Come Back to Me
by inu382
Summary: But you'll forget everything, Yuu thought bitterly. "But you're leaving me" he said instead. "Yeah," Minato agreed. "But I'll come back. I don't quite know how, but I promise I won't forget and I promise I'll come back to you." Yuu dreams of a blue-haired elevator attendant. Minato ditches the Seal because of Yuu. The story of two fools falling in love. P3xP4 Mentions of PQ and P3P
1. The Journey

This piece has been a long time in the making. I began this work just before Dancing All Night came out, so just before June of last year? It's nearly May now and I've finally finished it. This was originally supposed to be a short one-shot, but it evolved into a 52-page story. So, I've separated it into pieces.

I know this story won't garner a lot of attention—for one, the couple isn't necessarily popular and I'm not the _best_ writer ever. But this piece is special to me. This piece has all my hope about love in it; my hope that we each find love; that love can prevail; and that, ironic considering how much work goes into a relationship, there is a certain ease in loving someone you truly love—no matter how angry or how annoyed, it's easy to remember why you love that person even when you want to hate their face.

I haven't found that, but writing this story helped me believe in that again and it's my sincerest hope that, for the few people who may read this story, the same happens for you.

Thank you.

* * *

The first time it happened, Yuu easily ignored it. After all, they had just formed the Investigation Team and he already had his hands full trying to grasp the concept of personas and social links and shadows. So, when he woke up in the Velvet Room, in the shape of an elevator, and a blue-haired boy with headphones greeted him instead of Igor, Yuu just sat back and answered all the boy's odd questions—things like, "Is the world okay?" and "Are shadows back?" and "Do you ever see a tower where your school is? Does the world turn green and bloody?"

Yuu confirmed that no such thing was happening, other than the shadows, and the boy seemed satisfied; after staring at Yuu for an uncomfortably long time, the new Velvet Room attendant apologized for keeping Yuu and, in short order, Yuu found himself again in his bed.

* * *

The second time, Yuu was having a particularly hard time with Naoto's lab, and Igor's mocking smile was just frustrating. Fervently wishing for something better to look at than that stupid nose, Yuu fell asleep angry and defeated. When he next opened his eyes, he was looking straight into deep, ocean blue eyes. He glanced around, noticing he was back in the elevator.

"Having trouble?" the attendant had asked, not a trace of mockery in his voice.

"Yes," Yuu replied. "I need the Leader Card, but nothing I use is effective against the Dominating Machine. It's like it has no weaknesses."

The boy blinked slowly before he responded. "Who's in your team right now?"

"Yukiko, Kanji, and Yosuke."

"You need someone with ice skills. It's generally resistant to everything, but ice skills do more damage. Also, find a way to deflect physical attacks, and its attacks will be useless."

"So I should get Teddie or Chie…"

"Chie. She has more HP and better endurance. She can attack, take hits, and keep going. You should also equip an ice persona with mind charge."

"Switch her with Yosuke, then, because it sounds like we're going to need some endurance, and Yosuke's not as tough as Kanji."

The attendant smiled. "Sounds good to me."

Yuu awoke much more relaxed than he had in ages. While he couldn't get equipment that would completely deflect or block the attacks, they fared much better and finally defeated the Machine. In no time, they found themselves on the final floor of the Secret Laboratory. Yuu hoped he would meet the blue-haired boy again soon so Yuu could tell him that Naoto was a "she".

However, it was slightly embarrassing to Yuu that he couldn't figure out such an easy tactic on his own; so, he resolved to work harder to impress the blue-haired boy. Realizing he'd never found out the mystery attendant's name, Yuu decided to name him Makoto until the boy felt like telling him.

* * *

By the third time, Yuu was completely uninterested in impressing Makoto—he was also uninterested in eating, sleeping, studying, and working. If it didn't concern saving Nanako, Yuu didn't want to hear about it. He probably wouldn't have even seen Makoto had Yosuke not slipped Yuu some sleeping pills after Yuu collapsed in Heaven. Yuu awoke again in the elevator, pissed at the world and especially pissed at Yosuke.

"Nanako-chan is still missing, isn't she?"

"If you're so good at this, why can't you help me?" Yuu demanded, nearly standing from his chair.

Makoto smiled sadly. "I can't leave this room. But, maybe I can help you." He stood from his loveseat and walked around the small blue table; Yuu felt himself tense as Makoto got closer and closer until the boy was directly in front of him.

He put a hand on Yuu's shoulder and waited until Yuu was staring into his eyes. The hand, insubstantial as it felt (was it _transparent_?), was a comforting weight.

"You'll save her. You're not alone. Your friends are with you. _I'm_ with you, so it's okay."

And finally, _finally,_ Yuu could breathe easily.

"Thank you."

"Now go save Nanako-chan, and don't come back until you do."

So Yuu ate and slept (he would study and work _afterwards_ , but his grades weren't suffering and he didn't need the money). And, once again feeling more human, Yuu turned to his friends and relied on their strength. They beat Kunino-sagiri and Nanako was safe again (albeit hospitalized, but Yuu would take what he could).

* * *

The fourth time, Yuu was surprised that he'd walked in through the door and, instead of the limo, he again appeared in the elevator. Makoto was sitting in Igor's chair again, legs crossed casually, headphones in his ears, and his eyes closed. Standing beside him was a girl who looked a lot like Margaret, except for her short hair and blue boots. After a while, the girl finally elbowed the Igor-stand-in. Makoto awoke with a start and gave her a look, but didn't complain when he noticed Yuu was sitting in his seat patiently.

Just as before, he asked Yuu questions as to the progress of the investigation; how each was going; and Yuu's experience with fusion. When Yuu admitted he was having trouble fusing Satan, the blue-haired boy recommended using Michael along with a Chariot and Tower.

"What's your name?" Yuu finally asked.

The boy shrugged. "I don't remember."

"I've been calling you Makoto in my head for a while."

"Makoto? It sort of fits, I suppose."

"Is there a reason you're here instead of Igor? And where is Margaret?"

The woman smiled. "Are we truly here? This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter; it's entirely possible we're merely figments of your imagination."

"I don't think so. Are you?"

"No," Makoto replied flatly. "Stop trying to confuse him, Elizabeth. Margaret is already mad at us and I don't want to have another fight with your older sister."

"Your older sister?" Yuu repeated, cocking his head.

"How rude of me! My name is Elizabeth, and I am a former—but now returned—resident of the Velvet Room. I apologize for not introducing myself sooner. My new master does not remember his name, but as you've so kindly provided, you can call him Makoto."

"Why is Igor gone?"

Makoto smiled. "Igor isn't gone. You've just elected to come into our room this time."

Yuu frowned in response. " _I_ elected to come here?"

"You must've wanted to see me for some reason," Makoto explained, "or you would be with Margaret and Igor."

"Do you know Igor?"

The blue-haired boy's eyes unfocused, as if remembering something distant. "Somewhat. It's almost like a dream—the irony of which is not lost on me—but I remember coming to this room and making personas myself. I was pretty good at it."

"What else do you remember?"

"I…I chose to go away for a while, but when I was offered the opportunity to come back, I took it."

Yuu smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you. So…whenever I want to see you, all I have to do is think of you and come into the Velvet Room?"

"Precisely," Elizabeth replied.

"Do you do fusions or anything?"

"I can offer advice, I suppose," Makoto shrugged, scratching at his cheek. Elizabeth slapped his hand away. "But otherwise, it's entirely up to you whether you want to see us at all."

Yuu contemplated that. "You said you went away and you came back when offered the opportunity. Where did you go?"

"To the Seal."

"The Seal?"

Minato shrugged. "Don't ask me what it is. I don't exactly remember much other than the word and that the Seal is apparently very important."

"Do you remember why you went?"

Makoto looked away, the long sweep of his bangs hiding his face from Yuu, "I wanted to protect someone."

"And now it's safe to come back?"

"Not…really?"

Yuu startled. "What?"

"It's safe for me to return here, to the Velvet Room. I'm more of an apparition or a projection of myself now than a real person, which is why I can't remember anything. I just know it's a bad idea to go out into the real world right now, because the Seal might break. So, for now, I exist through the Velvet Room."

"Through…what?"

"Oh dear, now you've confused him, Master. Perhaps I should explain?"

"Hn."

"A few years ago, my Master had to sacrifice himself. I sought to free him, but have been unsuccessful; it seems though, my Master was intrigued by your ability as a Wild Card, and was able to project a portion of his soul here, in the Velvet Room. This separate Velvet Room is the manifestation of your connection to each other; I hope that, with your help, we will be able to completely free my Master from his chains. Until then, however, I cannot reveal my Master's entire past."

"Why not?" Yuu asked.

"I remember my Master as he was and prefer my Master as he is," Elizabeth replied cryptically, much to the chagrin of both boys.

"So, I'll never see you outside of the Velvet Room?"

Makoto smiled mischievously, and Yuu's heart stuttered.

"You can also see me in your dreams."

* * *

"I feel like we've met before," Yuu admitted. They were seated on the floor next to a takoyaki stand. The exploration of the Group Date café had gone well, and they were only one floor away from finding out Minato's destined partner. Yuu was suddenly glad he had opted not to be the leader for their combined forces; Rise was a fantastic member of the team and a better friend, but her jealousy was the stuff of legends.

"Have we?" Minato questioned, tilting his head in the same way Makoto would, erasing any doubt left in Yuu's mind.

"Or maybe you don't remember," Yuu muttered to himself.

"I don't," Minato said. Yuu cursed himself silently for forgetting how good Makoto's— _Minato's_ hearing was, even with the headphones in. "Should I remember you?"

Yuu thought about what little information he'd been able to weasel out of Elizabeth (who also didn't seem to remember him, but acknowledged that their destinies were tied together). The Elizabeth from his timeline had told Yuu that Minato loved eating; he was an incredibly reluctant, but talented leader; and that Minato sacrificed himself for much more than one person, but it seemed that there was only one person who really mattered to the blue-haired boy.

Said one person approached them, her arms crossed as usual and her boots clicking on the floor. Yuu supposed that if he had to lose to anyone, at least it was someone who was superior to him in just about every way.

"Arisato, Narukami," she greeted. "We've all rested and healed. I believe we should continue to move forward in our exploration. There's still too much about this world that we don't know, and I admit that I'm eager to feel less disorientated."

Minato's smile was gentle as he looked up at her, "Don't be so hasty, Mitsuru-senpai. We'll understand in time. Nothing meaningless happens in the Velvet Room, after all. But you're right that we should move forward. I'm sure everyone wants to know who my destined partner is."

Mitsuru huffed, a ringlet of her hair moving out of place. Minato chuckled and stood. Ignoring the way Mitsuru's cheeks burned red, Minato carefully replaced the curl. His hand caressed her cheek as they gazed at each other, and Yuu turned away to look at the wall.

"You know it's going to be you," Minato whispered.

* * *

It was her, of course, that fell through the floor with Minato, to Yuu's horror. The fact that Mitsuru was chosen instead of Yuu was a minor annoyance; Yuu felt horrified that Minato had literally slipped from his grasp. Once the floor had opened, Yuu made a mad dash to grab at Minato (he hoped someone was reaching for Mitsuru as well), but had only grazed the other boy's fingers.

Once they found a way to the churchyard, Yuu ignored the picture and the flowers and the oaths (and the urge to scream "I object!") and rushed over to defeat the Merciful Clergyman. After the battle, bloodied and breathless in the nurse's office, Minato approached Yuu and grinned at him.

"So, your first instinct was to protect me?"

Yuu flushed. "We'd be lost without our leader."

Minato glanced around; everyone else had been healed, it seemed, and Elizabeth had run off to get some supplies needed to heal the two leaders, who had elected to be healed last. They were alone in the office, Yuu realized. He startled when he felt a pair of petal-soft lips on his cheek. Minato pulled away and smiled at Yuu—the same way he smiled at Mitsuru.

"Thanks. Next time, try to save my team first."

Yuu smiled shakily. "I'll try to remember, but it was sort of instinctual."

"Does that mean I'm your destined partner? Is that why you seem to remember me, even though we've never met? You never answered me before, you know. _Should_ I remember you?"

They stared at each other for a second. "You sure are talkative when you're giddy," Yuu finally said.

Minato laughed.

* * *

Yuu could see it in the distance, the world slowly dissolving into the sands of time. They didn't have much time to spend together and, if he didn't work up the courage, he wouldn't get the chance he wanted to ask Minato to spend their last few minutes alone together. He approached Minato, his face as passive as usual; the blue-haired boy was talking to Naoto. They had taken a liking to one another. Yuu figured it was because they could've been twins.

"Minato-senpai?" he prodded.

Minato turned around and tilted his head at him. Naoto turned her shrewd eyes on Yuu as well, and it took most of Yuu's concentration to not show anything to the detective.

"Could I borrow you for a while?"

Minato smiled. "Of course, Vice Leader."

Yuu rolled his eyes. "Why couldn't they just call me by my name?"

Minato nodded at Naoto as she left to rejoin the others, then followed Yuu as they wandered through the school. "Because you always change your name."

Yuu gave him an odd look, but smirked in response. "Whatever."

"That's my line."

They ended up in front of the Group Date Café again. Wordlessly, Minato shrugged and walked in; not quite sure what to expect, Yuu followed him. They walked through the rooms, mostly in silence. Finally, Yuu's curiosity won.

"What's your favorite food?"

Minato smiled. "Anything is good, so long as it's big. I have a bit of an appetite."

That was an understatement, Yuu thought, remembering how Minato ate almost as much as Rei. Yuu was more surprised when Minato _wasn't_ eating.

"What about you?" Minato asked as they approached the first question door.

"Nanako-chan's science project."

* * *

It seemed that the questions were still functioning; as they walked through the dungeon again, Minato answered the robotic voice. Yuu looked on curiously, sure that the result would be the same. It wasn't as if Minato were changing his answers. It didn't bother Yuu too much, though, since he'd learned so much about Minato as they wandered. Besides learning of Minato's legendary appetite, Yuu learned that Minato's favorite color was red; his favorite subject was sleep (and Yuu had to tell Minato that sleep was not in the school curriculum); he was in student council; his Velvet Room door was both within Tartarus and in Palownia Mall; and he was surprisingly popular, despite his many attempts _not_ to be. Yuu also learned that Minato didn't sleep enough because he was meticulous with his planning for Tartarus exploration; that he was extremely relieved they came to the rift, because he didn't know how to fix the problems within his team (which he hated admitting); and Minato was actually terrified of losing anyone, but with a person who had an affinity towards death, Minato could sense when someone was about to die.

"So, you think someone will be dying soon?" Yuu asked.

Minato nodded.

Yuu was silent as they walked towards the final question door.

"I think it'll be Shinjiro-senpai."

Yuu stopped in surprise; Minato stopped and turned once he noticed Yuu wasn't beside him. They started at each other, as seemed to be their habit.

"I didn't expect you to tell me that," Yuu explained.

"I felt like I could," Minato replied, apparently bewildered at his own behavior.

"You can," Yuu affirmed, walking closer and patting Minato's shoulder.

"It's pretty handy being able to talk to you without having to say much," Minato smiled.

Yuu grinned back at him. "I think it's a Wild Card thing."

"Maybe it's just an us thing," Minato replied.

They walked through the final door, and Minato answered the question without even waiting for the voice. Somewhat annoyed now, the voice declared that the time had come for his destined partner to be revealed. Yuu briefly wondered how they would explain this to Mitsuru when she was pulled into the room, but the light shone on him instead.

"What?" Yuu asked, but he suddenly dropped down through the floor.

They landed in a heap, Minato on top of Yuu, groaning and chuckling with their hands joined.

"That was not fun at all," Yuu said.

"I landed on top of Mitsuru last time; she said the same thing."

"Don't talk about another woman on our wedding day," Yuu grinned as he stood, pulling Minato up with him.

"Does this mean you're wearing the dress?" Minato walked forward, cheekily squeezing Yuu's hand. Yuu snorted and swung their arms.

"No. I think you'd look better in it."

Which was proven when they approached the picture, leaving Yuu in hysterics and Minato pouting; the blue-haired boy eventually smiled, and shoved Yuu to get his attention. Once Yuu calmed down, the taller boy tightly grasped Minato's hand and walked down to the church.

"Do you have your vows planned out?" Yuu asked, thoroughly amused.

Minato pretended to think. "Well, yeah, but I don't know how much you'll like it, so you should go first."

They approached the church and the doors flew open, revealing the Engage King in all his glory. Yuu noticed he and Minato were still holding hands.

"When does this stop? We're about to fight."

Minato shrugged. "We haven't said our vows, yet."

Yuu considered saying something cheesy, but then he thought of how he would be returning to a Minato who couldn't remember him. Yuu thought of a Minato who couldn't even remember his own name and had to be named "Makoto". He thought of a Minato who couldn't leave the Velvet Room. Somehow, Yuu needed to impart how he felt on this Minato, who would remember, that Yuu was there for him.

"I'll protect you. I promise," he said.

Minato blinked at him, bemused; eventually, the shorter boy smiled at him. His other hand brought up his evoker and, without flinching, summoned Thanatos. The persona viciously ripped the Engage King apart, but Yuu wasn't fazed. He knew that the same person who could summon the very embodiment of death and destruction could also summon a being of hope and resurrection.

 _My Master had to sacrifice himself_.

Yuu realized it a moment before Minato had said it. He was so stunned that he almost didn't feel the lips against his own, but he regained enough of himself to reciprocate briefly. When Minato pulled away, his deep blue eyes were resigned.

"I think I'm going to die, Yuu-kun."

* * *

Yuu stared moodily at the doors that lead to their respective worlds. It seemed fate hated all of them; after sharing so much of themselves in the Group Date Café, Minato wasn't going to remember Yuu anyway. Worst of all, Yuu wasn't going to remember Minato either; all he would have with him would be the many questions that plagued him before the rift had occurred.

But the feel of Minato's lips—no force in the universe could make Yuu forget that. The silver-haired boy was sure of it.

Everyone else had stepped through the doors, sans the Velvet Room residents and the team leaders. Yuu turned to face Minato, his hands clenched. "It isn't fair. I don't want to forget this," he said through gritted teeth.

Minato smiled softly. "You won't. I won't forget either. I know the others will only remember the emotions, but you and me? We can't forget this."

"How can you be so sure?" Yuu asked.

Minato shrugged. "Just a feeling."

"But," Yuu started, then stopped himself. "…Okay."

The blue-haired boy frowned. "But…?"

 _But you'll forget_ everything _,_ Yuu thought bitterly. "But, you're leaving me," he said instead.

"Yeah," Minato agreed. "But I'll come back. I don't quite know how, but I promise I won't forget and I promise I'll come back to you."

"Not that I enjoy sabotaging myself, but what about Mitsuru-san?"

Minato smiled cryptically. "You were there in the café. You're my destined partner."

"So was Mitsuru-san."

"Only while I'm alive, it seems," Minato explained. "I didn't have Thanatos equipped when we went to the final floor."

Nonplussed, Yuu didn't notice Minato approach him until the blue-haired leader was directly in front of him. Determined not to space out during every one of their kisses, Yuu wrapped his arms around Minato's waist and pulled Minato close. The vice leader's arms encircled Yuu's shoulders loosely, one hand playing with Yuu's hair. The kiss was slow and sensual, partly a goodbye and partly a reason to remember. When they separated, out of breath and thoroughly flushed, Yuu leaned his forehead against Minato's. Minato smiled back and caressed Yuu's cheek.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Margaret said gently. "But we have to go now."

Yuu flushed, having forgotten about the others still there with them—Elizabeth's manic gaze proved they definitely had been watching unabashedly. With one final squeeze, Yuu finally let go of Minato. They walked back to their doors, turning to look at each other as they walked through.

"Don't forget me," Minato whispered.

"Come back to me," Yuu replied.

A bright flash later and Yuu found himself back in the festival. The others couldn't seem to remember anything, but Yuu could. He remembered Zen and Philei (and wished them every happiness); he remembered rushing in to save Minato's team; he remembered every kiss.

"Partner?" Yosuke asked. "You okay in there?"

 _So was Mitsuru-san._

 _Only when I'm alive. I didn't have Thanatos equipped. You're my destined partner._

Yuu's eyes widened in understanding and he smiled. "Never been better."

* * *

"I know your real name," Yuu said in lieu of greeting.

"How?" Minato asked, seemingly disinterested. Yuu knew better.

"I can't tell you," he replied, after he glanced at Elizabeth.

Minato looked at her as well; she was the picture of innocence, which didn't fool anybody present.

"Fine. What's my name, then?"

"Arisato Minato."

"Minato, huh? I guess you were pretty close with Makoto," the blue-haired boy smiled. "Did you learn anything else?"

Yuu grinned back and motioned to the large bag he carried. "I learned quite a bit, actually." Carefully, Yuu laid out a literal six-course meal on the table, watching as Minato's face gradually changed from his usual neutral expression to his usual neutral expression with slightly raised eyebrows.

"What's all this?" Minato asked, but Yuu could sense a tiny flicker of hope in his voice.

"I already ate," he said, "This is all for you. I also have another gift for you, but you should probably eat."

With barely the words out of Yuu's mouth, Minato had already separated his chopsticks and methodically devoured the food. Yuu watched, flabbergasted, as Minato literally ate everything but the cutlery. Even more surprisingly, Minato managed to do it in less than ten minutes.

"Sorry. I was pretty hungry," Minato said after he finished.

Yuu merely nodded. "Don't worry about it. Ready for your other gift?"

Minato tilted his head, and Yuu almost felt like they were back in the rift. "This was enough. You didn't have to get me anything else."

"I wanted to," Yuu said as he held out the box. In it was a pair of red headphones. Minato's eyes widened in surprise.

"Red?" he asked. "I feel like…"

"Like it's your favorite color?" Yuu suggested hopefully.

Minato's answering smile was more than enough to make up for the enormous dent in Yuu's wallet.

" _Yes_ ," he replied. "Exactly like that. How did you know?"

Yuu grinned. "Lucky guess."

Minato chuckled. "Something else you learned about me, I assume. I wish you would tell me."

Yuu sighed. "I really want to. You have no idea how much I want to tell you."

Minato's eyebrows furrowed. "Is it something important?"

 _It's important to me_. Yuu thought. "Don't worry about it. Nothing meaningless happens in the Velvet Room, after all."

Minato blinked. "Whoa. Major déjà vu."

Yuu laughed.

* * *

"Why can't we tell him anything?" Yuu asked Elizabeth as he escorted her through Inaba. She had demanded that he also complete her requests, because Margaret obviously didn't keep him busy enough. At least she was more generous with her rewards, a requirement set by her new master (who seemed especially bitter about paltry rewards for extreme amounts of work).

"He gave his life for a reason; he has come back for his own reasons. If he is to remember his past and what he gave his life up for, then we will tell him or he will find some other way to remember. If not, then who are we to try to drag him back to that life? He could never return to his old life, besides."

"Can't he? I'm sure Mitsuru-san and Aigis-san would love to see him," Yuu replied.

"Perhaps, but they won't be the Mitsuru-san and Aigis that my Master knew. While they have grown, my Master has remained in suspended animation. In fact, though you often call him 'senpai,' he's now the same age as you. Whatever life he had before, he cannot simply pick it back up and continue. So, if he is to start life again, why burden him with his old memories? Why burden him with questions of how life would've been for him had he chosen not to sacrifice himself? Besides, should he know the real reason he chose to become the Seal, he may choose to go back in order to continue protecting that person that's so special to him. Selfish though he seems, my Master will always choose that person's happiness and safety over his own life."

"I see," Yuu shook his head, fondly. "You really care about him, huh?"

Elizabeth smiled sadly. "Minato-kun…he means so much to me. He showed me this world and taught me what it meant to have a bond with another person. I've been trying for so long to release him from the Seal. You seem to know more about it now."

Yuu nodded. "Minato and his friends were attempting to stop the Dark Hour. They beat large shadows every full moon. Before we separated, Minato-senpai told me that he could sense that he wasn't going to survive the ordeal. What happened after September?"

"You know quite a bit. You'll have to tell me how afterwards. After September, SEES discovered that Ikutsuki had been deceiving them. By destroying the shadows representing the arcana, they were actually allowing for the arcana that should not exist to come together. I believe you've seen this arcana in action."

Yuu's lips tightened. "Death."

"Yes, Death. Death was trapped inside of my Master, put there by Aigis when she could not defeat it. Thanatos, the Nyx Avatar, ascended Tartarus and summoned Nyx, who would bring about the end of the world. Nyx is not inherently evil, but mankind had been calling for the end, so Nyx came. After an arduous battle, my Master used the power of the bonds he had formed and gave his own soul. He became the Great Seal, which keeps mankind's cries for the end away from Nyx. A month later, after saying his goodbyes, my Master passed in Aigis' arms."

Elizabeth's shoulders straightened and Yuu could feel determination pouring off her.

"I've tried so hard, Narukami-kun," she whispered. "I've researched and researched. I abandoned my duties in the Velvet Room and I abandoned my family. Somehow, you've accomplished something in a few months that I could never do in two years. I am convinced now."

"Convinced of?"

"The way to free my new Master is through the power of the Wild Card. I must obtain this power."

Yuu frowned. "Can you use personas as well?"

"Yes," she nodded. "We of the Velvet Room must also be able to defend ourselves and our Masters. Our personas depend on our own personalities, our strengths, and our desires. My brother, as far as I know, has yet to awaken to his. My sister is incredibly loyal to my former Master, and so she is able to use multiple personas to defend him through the use of our guest's compendium. While I am also capable of using more than one persona by such means, my Master's persona, Thanatos, has chosen to accompany me on my journey to free him."

"Thanatos did?" Yuu asked in surprise. "A persona that's conscious of its choices?"

"Thanatos has always been a bit special, in that regard," Elizabeth smiled. "As the persona who functioned as both the final arcana Death and the avatar for Nyx, Thanatos has always had a mind of his own. Before he was completed, Thanatos did not have much choice and was chained to my Master's side, because he was sealed within my Master. After the fragments came together, he willingly chose to follow my Master because my Master was not afraid of death and did not see death only as destruction."

Yuu looked away, remembering the calm manner in which Minato handled Zen and Rei's deaths. "No, he wouldn't. He always sees death as a resurrection."

"Odd that you know that. Care to explain to me now how you know so much?"

The silver-haired boy sighed. "It's a long story."

"We have time."

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Minato asked, sitting beside Yuu. Elizabeth had gone on an errand and, in return for Yuu's wallet, agreed to go alone.

Yuu resisted the urge to lay his head on Minato's; it was torture to pretend he didn't want to be closer. Minato, as usual, was oblivious to Yuu's—

"Why are you so tense? I feel like you're hiding something from me. Is it about how you found out so much about me? Or is it about the Investigation? It was Adachi-san, right?"

Yuu stared ahead, mildly surprised when Minato plucked Yuu's hand out of Yuu's lap and held it in his own, smaller hands. The blue-haired boy turned Yuu's hand around, seemingly observing the many scars and the rough callouses. Slowly, Minato traced one of the scars, lightly tickling Yuu.

"You sure are talkative when you're giddy," he whispered.

Minato chuckled. "Major déjà vu. Are you going to answer my questions?"

"And handsy. Should I be worried about you besmirching my honor?"

Minato sighed. "I guess that's a no."

"…I'm feeling as though something is wrong. I can't accept that Adachi-san did all this on his own. Someone must've led Adachi-san to the TV world first. But who?"

It seemed Minato had no qualms about getting closer to Yuu. Without so much as blinking, he laid his head on Yuu's shoulder, humming in thought. "Did anything strike you as odd when you arrived in Inaba?"

"Minato-senpai, are you going to fall asleep on me?"

"Yuu-kun, you have this really bad habit of not answering my questions."

Yuu smiled. "Sorry about that. You're very distracting."

"It's the blue hair, isn't it?"

Yuu's eyes softened. "It's everything about you."

Minato lifted his head, his face slightly less expressionless. Yuu stared back at Minato; later, when their lips met, Yuu wouldn't be able to remember who leaned in first. For now, all Yuu could think about was how long he'd been waiting to feel Minato's lips again. Unlike in the rift, this Minato's kiss was less of a press and more of a feather brushing against Yuu's lips. They pulled apart and stared at each other again.

"Sorry," Minato finally said.

"Don't be. I've kind of been hoping that would happen."

Minato smirked. "Aren't you the mature leader of your group? You should be the one making all the moves. I got tired of dropping hints."

"Senpai, you were dropping hints?"

"I stared at you for far longer than I stare at anything else."

"I'm the only thing _to_ stare at in this room."

"Don't backtalk me, kouhai," Minato chuckled, "It's not my fault you're slow."

"Minato-senpai," Yuu sighed, smiling against Minato's lips. "Shut up."

They didn't move to kiss each other; the closeness was enough for Yuu. Even without his memories, it seemed Minato was just as drawn to Yuu as Yuu was to Minato. Yuu could figure out how to bring Minato back after he basked in the moment for a bit.

"I'd run through hell for you," Yuu whispered dreamily.

The blue-haired boy rolled his eyes, but smiled. "With a persona like Izanagi-no-Okami, I believe it."

Yuu's eyebrows furrowed. "…Izanagi…"

"Yes, your persona," Minato reminded. "The one who accidentally looks back too soon and is attacked by Izanami."

"Izanami?"

Minato frowned. " _Yes_ , Izanami. Swears to bring about destruction and all that. I lost my memories and even I know that. What do they teach kids in mythology nowadays?"

"Izanami! The gas attendant!"

"…Have I missed something?"

* * *

Yuu opened the door to the Velvet Room, waving once more at a smiling Minato and a bored Elizabeth. The boy waved back lazily; just before the door shut, though, he pointed behind Yuu and Elizabeth started laughing. Confused, Yuu turned around and came face to chest with a shocked Kanji.

"Senpai," he began, "Did you just come out of thin air?"

Yuu remained silent.

"Because, you weren't here before. And you literally just popped up in front of me. It almost looked like you came out of a doorway, but I don't see a door. And behind you it was completely blue for two seconds; like, a blue room. And it sorta sounded like an elevator. And there was a boy with blue hair and a girl with blonde hair. And they looked right at me."

Silence.

"Senpai, why aren't you saying anything?"

"You can see the Velvet Room?" Yuu finally asked.

"Velvet…? Oh!" Kanji lit up. "I remember you mentioning something about that before! That weird room where you make all your new personas; the one none of us can see! Was that it just now? Does that mean I can see it?"

Yuu tilted his head and decided to experiment. He opened the Velvet Room door again; like before, Minato was standing in the same place, still pointing at Kanji. Elizabeth was no longer laughing, but still thoroughly amused.

"Oh! I see it now!"

"So, you can't see the door, but you can see the inside of the Velvet Room when I open it?" Yuu surmised. He turned to the residents. "Any ideas, Minato-senpai? Elizabeth?"

"Senpai?" Kanji muttered to himself. "He looks as old as Yuu-senpai."

Minato hummed. "Nothing meaningless happens in the Velvet Room. If your friend—Kanji-kun, I'm assuming—can see me now, it may be possible that all your friends will be able to see me if you open the door for them. As for why? I couldn't tell you."

Minato and Elizabeth stared at Kanji for a while, slowly unnerving the blond. Yuu could see Kanji was doing his best not to react, likely for Yuu's sake.

"Oh." Elizabeth finally said. "I see why."

"See what?" Kanji asked. "What do you mean?"

Elizabeth's smile was mischievous. "He's probably the person who can understand your relationship the most. Maybe it's time you let someone in on it."

Yuu blinked. "Whatever you say."

"Good. Now close my door. You're letting the draft in," Minato said.

"I'll come by later to warm you up," Yuu replied.

"Don't forget my beef bowl."

"You're such an expensive date," the silver-haired boy sighed, shutting the door.

Kanji, meanwhile, kept looking back and forth between Yuu and the blue-haired mystery boy. Finally, a look of dawning realization crossed his features and Yuu knew Kanji would have questions.

"Sh-Should we talk about this somewhere else, senpai?"

"I'd like that."

They walked to Kanji's, briefly greeting his mother and quickly climbing up to the taller boy's room. Yuu was amused to see the room was a mess of fabrics, sewing supplies, and dolls.

"So, senpai has a boyfriend?" Kanji asked, to Yuu's relief. He much preferred it that Kanji was so quick to get to the point.

"Yes." Briefly, he explained their meetings and Minato's past. "We only started dating, I guess, just before we defeated Izanami-no-Mikoto. I didn't mean to keep him a secret, but no one believed me about the Velvet Room, so it didn't seem pressing to tell anyone about him."

"So, Minato-senpai is trapped in that room? He can't ever come out?" Kanji asked sadly, sniffling. "Is there anything we can do to get him out?"

"I don't know. Elizabeth believes my being a Wild Card will somehow help free Minato-senpai, but I don't see how. I just wanted to see him before I left Inaba, since I probably won't get to see him until my next break."

Kanji nodded. "I get it. So, why did that girl say I would understand your relationship? I-I mean, I know I finally actually accepted my shadow, but…I don't like a boy…"

Yuu smiled, hearing the implied "right now."

"You and Naoto would make a cute couple."

Kanji flushed and he rushed to deny it. Yuu laughed, feeling more at ease now that he could talk to someone about Minato. "I think she said you'd understand because you wouldn't judge me for dating a guy," Yuu finally replied.

"I think the most pressing part is less Minato-senpai's gender and more the fact that he's kind of a ghost living in an invisible elevator."

Yuu laughed again.

"Thanks, Kanji-kun. I don't know how, but we'll find a way to fix it. Minato will leave that room."

Kanji sobered. "I'll definitely help. I don't know if I completely understand, but Minato-senpai gave his life for Yuu-senpai and all of us to have a future. He deserves a second chance to live his life for himself."

Yuu frowned. "Well, he didn't give up his life for me. He did it for Mitsuru-san."

Kanji cocked his head. "But senpai said Minato-senpai promised he would come back for you, right? And you said Minato-senpai probably remembered everything that happened in that weird place the rest of us couldn't remember, just like you. Maybe he cared a lot about Mitsuru-san and maybe they were together while he was alive, but it seems to me that Minato-senpai was thinking about Yuu-senpai when he gave up his life."

"Why do you think that?" Yuu asked, curious.

"I may not be the smartest person in the world, but I know what I know. Minato-senpai didn't want you to forget him because he wouldn't forget you, even if all his memories were gone. That's why he came back; that's how strong his feelings for senpai are. And I feel like he didn't want you to go through what he went through; I feel like he knew being a wild whatever-you-call-it would always be difficult, so he gave himself up to trap away a being that could take your soul, too." Kanji gripped his hair. "I'm not making sense!"

Yuu blinked, tilting his head.

"Look. Just trust me. Minato-senpai loves you. He _cared_ about this Mitsuru-san, but he _loves_ you."

"I don't understand," Yuu whispered. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because he's risking breaking the Seal and putting the world in danger just to spend a couple of hours in a blue elevator with senpai."

Yuu released a ragged breath, his chest heavy and his eyes clouding. Weakly, he smiled at Kanji.

"You know, Kanji-kun? You're actually pretty smart."

* * *

It was the first day of Golden Week and Yuu unfortunately only had a few minutes to spend with Minato before he was expected with his friends. The blue-haired boy took it in stride, insisting that Yuu spend this time with his friends.

"But I only ever see you consciously when I go through the door here. If I try to dream of you now, it's just flashes and short conversations and, by morning, I don't remember much. I dislike not being able to visit you. I don't suppose you can install a Velvet Room door in my closet?"

Minato laughed. "Sorry, I don't think it's possible and my assistant has abandoned me."

Yuu blinked and looked around. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen Elizabeth in a while. Where _did_ she go?"

Minato shrugged. "You inspired her to resume her own journey. She's convinced the power of the Wild Card will free me from the Seal, but she's not a Wild Card herself."

"So, she…what? Went to go find out how to become one?"

"Pretty much."

Yuu smiled. "That definitely sounds like her. I wish I could stay longer, but I should get going. The others are expecting me. Are you sure you'll be okay here?" Yuu blinked. "Actually, what happens to this room when I'm not here?"

Minato looked away. "I'll be okay. Unless you're here, I don't exist."

The Investigation Team leader stared. "You don't exist?"

"I mean, I _do_ exist, in a way. But you and the other Velvet Room residents are the only ones who have…I don't know… _access_ to my existence? It's hard to explain."

"So, when I'm not here…?"

"I'm back in the Seal. I'm pretty sure the whole reason I even came to this room was because of you."

They stared at each other.

"Is that supposed to be a love confession?" Yuu asked.

"Of course not. You're supposed to propose to me, not the other way around. _I_ already made the first move, after all."

"Senpai, you're technically older. I'll agree to marry you when you propose properly." Yuu shook his head, smiling. He kissed Minato again briefly before walking out of the Velvet Room…

And right into the P-1 Grand Prix.

* * *

He found Minato pouting; after fighting with Sho _and_ Minazuki and saying goodbye to the Shadow Operatives for a second time, Yuu wasn't sure he had the energy to figure out why his boyfriend was mad.

 _But he does look cute when he pouts_.

"Did I do something wrong?" Yuu asked as he sat beside Minato, laying his head on the shorter boy's lap.

"Elizabeth got to be in the P-1 Grand Prix _twice_."

Yuu laughed. "Are you jealous?"

"Why does she get all the credit when she's using _my_ persona?"

The silver-haired boy couldn't resist kissing the pout away.

* * *

Yuu sighed, smiling as he relaxed on his bed in Inaba. Being able to visit Inaba without the world possibly ending was refreshing. His parents were equal parts disappointed and happy that Yuu wanted to go back to Inaba for summer vacation, but Dojima didn't mind and Nanako was thrilled. In short order, Yuu was back on the train to his closest friends and his somewhat imaginary boyfriend.

Said friends were lounging around his room, their conversation flowing over him. Yosuke and Chie were in another argument over the many meals Yosuke supposedly owed the karate-loving girl; Yukiko was loudly laughing at them; Naoto and Kanji were huddled together in a corner, Naoto amazed at Kanji's sewing skills; Nanako was dozing with her head on Yuu's chest; Rise was subtly wiggling her way closer to Yuu while Teddie loudly complained about all the girls being occupied.

Finally, Yosuke pulled away from Chie and plopped down next to Yuu, effectively cutting off Rise's route. "Hey, partner, what should we do for summer vacation? We've got to make the most of the time you're with us."

"We should go on a trip, senpai!" Rise exclaimed, nudging Yosuke out of the way and laying her head on Yuu's chest, much to the silver-haired teenager's embarrassment. "Where do you think we should go?"

Yosuke scoffed and sat on the other side of the bed, careful of Nanako's head. "We could go to the beach."

"So you can stare at us in our swimsuits again?" Chie complained. "No way. Where else could we go?"

"We could go to the city!" Yukiko said.

Yuu's lips tightened. He could still see Minato in his dreams, but they were sporadic and insubstantial. Moving away from the Velvet Room door, especially after working so hard to make sure he could spend his summer vacation in Inaba, did not appeal to Yuu.

"What about Iwatodai again?" Rise said. "We could go to that club! And I heard from Labrys-chan that she and the Shadow Operatives were going to Iwatodai this summer for basic training."

"Basic training in Iwatodai? Why there?" Kanji asked, drawn into the conversation.

"I assume their main base of operations when they began as teenagers is still operating," Naoto interjected. "It also has a nostalgic quality, so they are able to further include Labrys-san in their past lives. Iwatodai is also basically owned by the Kirijo group, so any damage to property would be easily handled without meddlesome administrative issues."

"Well, I wouldn't mind seeing Mitsuru-san and the others. What do you think of Iwatodai, partner?" Yosuke grinned, looking at Yuu.

Yuu's eyes snapped open. "That sounds good. We can consider it. Excuse me."

He carefully laid Nanako on his bed and gently pushed off Rise, before rushing out of the room. The others stared after him, bewildered.

"Did my partner seem…I dunno…kinda weird?" Yosuke finally asked the silent room.

"Senpai has been acting strange lately," Naoto frowned. "And there are times of the day where he completely disappears and we can't find him anywhere. It was especially bad after we captured Adachi. He would disappear for hours."

Rise pouted. "What if senpai has a girlfriend he's hiding from us?"

"I suppose it's a possibility. We may have to investigate; I dislike the idea of senpai keeping secrets from us. Considering the many trials we've faced, secrets can be dangerous," Naoto sighed. She glanced over at Kanji, who seemed suddenly focused on his sewing. Suspicious, Naoto cleared her throat.

"Kanji-kun?"

"Y-Yeah?" Kanji didn't look at her. Naoto's eyes narrowed.

"I don't suppose you know what Yuu-senpai has been up to lately, do you?"

The boy flushed and looked away when the others started staring at him also. "No! Of course not!"

"Oh, really, Kanji-kun?" Rise asked, stepping in front of him with her arms akimbo. "Why do you look so guilty?"

Kanji glanced around and noticed that, short of Nanako, the others had begun closing in on him. Though Yuu had never told the blond to keep Minato a secret, Kanji felt uncomfortable telling them something Yuu had confided in him.

"I don't know nothing! I-I…I have to use the bathroom!" Kanji cried, running to his only exit—the window. The others tried to catch him, but Kanji jumped out onto a branch in a nearby tree. Just as Chie was gearing up to follow him, Kanji jumped down from the tree and ran away, towards the shopping district.

"Well, that wasn't suspicious at all," Yosuke snorted. "Let's follow him. Kanji's just stupid enough to lead us right to Yuu."

Sharing a quick nod, they tucked Nanako in and ran out behind their friends. When they reached the shopping district, though, neither boy was anywhere in sight.

"Where could they have gone?" Rise pouted.

Naoto sighed. "All right, we should split up. Someone should go to Kanji-kun's house, to see if they reconvened there. Someone should go back to Yuu-senpai's house, in case they get back. Someone should stay by the bus station, the shrine, and someone should stay here."

"I'll go check out the shrine!" Yukiko announced.

"I'll go to the river bank!" Chie decided, "He also goes there a lot."

"I'll check out Kanji-kun's house!" Rise ran off.

"I'll head back to partner's house. We shouldn't leave Nanako-chan all alone anyway," Yosuke said.

"I'll keep a _bear_ -y keen eye out for sensei at the bus stop!" Teddie skipped away.

"Which leaves me to check out the shopping district," Naoto mumbled to herself. She walked around, casually looking into the stores and wondering how people as distinctive-looking as Kanji and Yuu could disappear so easily.

* * *

Yuu rushed over to the Velvet Room door, excited to discover if his hunch was correct; if the Velvet Room door Minato used was still in Palownia Mall, then Yuu could kill two birds with one stone—he and his friends could go on a trip, and he'd be able to continue seeing Minato.

"Yuu-senpai!" he heard. Confused, he turned to find Kanji running towards him in a panic.

"Kanji-kun? What are you doing here? Where are the others?"

"The others! We have to hide! They're getting super suspicious about you leaving all the time and think you have a girlfriend and they asked me but I wouldn't tell them nothin' but they know I know something and oh my god senpai they're probably following us and—"

Yuu put a hand on Kanji's mouth. "Calm down."

Kanji nodded. Once he seemed to breathe easier, Yuu released Kanji and grabbed the boy's wrist.

"We don't have much time. I guess you'll be meeting my boyfriend," he said, gripping the handle to the Velvet Room door. Kanji blinked uncomprehendingly until Yuu pulled him into the Velvet Room. The door shut behind him with finality, and Kanji was enveloped in blue. He looked around, amusing Yuu with the look of wonder on the blond's face.

"Is this elevator moving?" he asked.

"It does that," Minato replied as he approached. "Nice to meet you, Kanji-kun. Yuu-kun has told me a lot about you."

Kanji flushed and nodded back at the blue-haired boy. "N-Nice to meet you, Minato-senpai. I'm sorry I'm intruding."

Minato smiled gently, "The more the merrier. Don't apologize." Kanji immediately relaxed; as detached and emotionless as Minato seemed, Kanji surmised that the boy was actually a lot kinder. "Is there a reason my boyfriend dragged you in here, though?"

Yuu answered. "The others were harassing Kanji about my 'secret girlfriend'."

Minato pouted. "You don't want them to know about me?"

"I don't want _Rise_ to know about you," Yuu joked. "I honestly wouldn't mind, but I wanted to ask you first how comfortable you feel about having people in here, because they wouldn't believe me otherwise."

Kanji scratched his head. "It's true that I wouldn't 100% believe senpai about Minato-senpai if I hadn't seen this room before."

"Well, I suppose that makes sense, even if persona users ought to be able to believe anything," Minato replied. "Do you _want_ them to meet me?"

Kanji and Yuu glanced at each other.

"It would take a lot of explaining…and they may feel hurt that I didn't include them in the beginning…but yes, I want to introduce you to them. I want to free you and I'm obviously getting nowhere on my own," Yuu sighed, hugging Minato tightly. The blue-haired boy blinked in surprise before returning the gesture.

"Minato-senpai?" Kanji asked. Minato looked at the blond over Yuu's shoulder. "You can't remember anything, at all?"

Minato frowned. "Actually…"

Yuu pulled away, looking at Minato with wide eyes. "Did you remember something?"

The blue-haired boy nodded. "Sort of. I remembered this boy? He was with a girl with long, blonde hair. The boy carried a crossbow? And the girl had flowers in her hair. For some reason, I felt as though I could really relate to them."

"Zen and Rei," Yuu inadvertently whispered.

"Was that their names?" Minato asked, and Yuu cursed himself for forgetting again.

"Names? What names?" Kanji asked, having not heard Yuu.

"He said Zen and Rei. Do you know those names, Kanji-kun?"

Kanji shook his head jerkily and looked at Yuu. Said boy sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I can't tell you."

Minato visibly deflated. Belatedly, Yuu remembered Kanji's love of all cute things and, as pathetic and puppy-like as Minato looked just then, it was only a matter of time until—

"They're the people we met when we got caught in the time rift last year! No one remembers it except Yuu-senpai and you remembered it when you could still remember stuff because you're Yuu-senpai's destined partner! Please stop looking so sad!" Kanji exploded.

Minato blinked. "We're destined partners?"

"Kanji-kun, wait—!"

"We went through a maze in that other world where you and Yuu-senpai went through a Group Date Café themed thing that told Minato-senpai who his destined partner was and first it said it was Mitsuru-san but the second time it said Yuu-senpai and I think it meant to say Yuu-senpai because that's the reason you're back!"

"Dammit, Kanji!" Yuu finally snapped. "He can't know all this!"

"Why not?" Minato asked quietly. "Why keep something like that from me?"

 _Selfish though he seems, my Master will always choose that person's happiness and safety over his own life._

Yuu sighed and ducked his head. "Because I'm scared that once you remember everything, you won't want to stay with me."

The blue-haired boy breathed deeply and nodded to himself.

"Invite your friends here. We're _all_ going to hear this story. All of it."

"Minato," Yuu entreated, "Please listen to me."

"I _am_ going to listen to you," the blue-haired boy replied, his eyes hard. "Because you're going to tell me everything I want to know and you're going to tell me how you know so much about me. And if you don't want to, don't bother coming back."

Yuu startled. "What?"

"I need you to trust me, Yuu-kun. That means tell me things, even if you don't think I should know. If you don't trust me, why bother being with me?"

"Because you won't want to be with me after I tell you everything," Yuu muttered, looking away. "I'll lose you either way."

"S-Senpai?" Kanji ventured, jumping when both boys turned sharp looks at him. "It, uh, it seems to me that you're making this more complicated than it is."

Yuu frowned. "What do you mean?"

Kanji shrugged. "Yuu-senpai, just tell Minato-senpai. He's not gonna leave you. You're the whole reason he came back. Minato-senpai, Yuu-senpai trusts you—of course he does, he freaking loves you. He's just scared."

Both leaders blinked at the blond then looked at each other. Slowly, a smile spread across each of their faces.

"You love me?" Minato asked.

"Of course I do. But I guess you can't tell me whether or not you came back for me, huh?" Yuu smiled sadly.

"Idiot," Minato scoffed. "Of course I came back for you. Zen and Rei aren't the only ones I remember. You didn't exactly let me finish. I remembered making a promise that I would come back to you. I just couldn't figure out when or why I would've said that, so I never mentioned it."

Yuu's brows furrowed. "Wait. When did you remember that?"

Minato poked Yuu in the forehead. "The moment you appeared in my elevator."

"…Was your creepy staring your way of telling me that or something?"

"My creepy staring is the only way I communicate. You should know that by now."

Yuu sighed, seemingly mystified. "You came back to me. You remembered our promise and came back to me."

"Told you," Kanji couldn't help interjecting.

The blue-haired boy laughed. "You've got a pretty sharp friend there."

"That's what I've been saying," Yuu replied, smiling gently. "I'm sorry I've been keeping so much from you. I really was scared you'd leave me because…because I thought you sacrificed yourself for Mitsuru-san and you'd go back to being the Seal for her."

Minato looked confused. "You may have to explain quite a few things to me, but I can tell you that I love _you_."

Kanji coughed. "This is cute and everything, but it's kinda awkward standing here while you guys are declaring your love for each other. Since Minato-senpai is cool with meeting the others, should I go get them while you hash things out?"

Minato and Yuu nodded and, eager to leave them alone, Kanji ran out of the Velvet Room.

"He's not gonna be able to get back in," Minato mused.

"That's fine," Yuu shrugged, then smirked at his boyfriend. "I think we could use a few minutes alone right now, anyway."

* * *

Naoto frowned, having looked everywhere in the shopping district. There was no sign of Yuu and Kanji, and Naoto was starting to worry about them. She briefly considered checking the TV world, but she doubted she should go alone to check for them. She walked by Daidara's Metal Works and stopped, completely shocked, as Kanji literally appeared from thin air. None of the other shoppers around them seemed to notice that Kanji had simply popped up from nowhere; they acted as if Kanji had always been there, leading Naoto to believe only persona users would be able to notice Kanji appearing and disappearing. She narrowed her eyes and approached him quickly before he could run. Contrary to his earlier behavior, Kanji ran straight to Naoto.

"Kanji-kun?" she asked as he drew nearer. "Where is senpai? How did you appear like that?"

Kanji appeared flustered. "I came out of the Velvet Room."

"Velvet Room?"

"I guess you never heard about it. By the time we wanted to save you, no one believed senpai anymore, so he stopped talking about it."

"What _is_ the Velvet Room, Kanji-kun?" Naoto asked as they fell into step together, walking back towards Junes naturally.

"It's the room where senpai makes all his new personas. But now, it's also where he meets his boyfriend," Kanji said cautiously.

Naoto smiled fondly. "You really have no tact, Kanji-kun. So, senpai is dating the person who makes personas for him?"

"No, Minato-senpai doesn't make personas, but he used to make them." Kanji groaned. "This is gonna be a pain to explain. I think we should actually get everyone together first, cause senpai wants everyone to meet Minato-senpai."

"How old _is_ this Minato-senpai?"

"He looks about the same age as senpai, but I think he must be older, because Yuu-senpai calls him 'Minato-senpai' too."

Naoto nodded, distracted with her thoughts. She quickly texted everyone to meet with her and Kanji at Junes so they could all congregate somewhere before they entered this supposed Velvet Room. "Try to tell me everything you know, Kanji-kun, before everyone else gets here. I've got a feeling that senpai is going to need someone on his side when he tries to explain all this and it would help if I know something before I go in there."

They sat down at their usual table. Kanji took a great breath and Naoto smiled, knowing he was probably going to try and tell her everything at once.

"So, you don't remember this—well, neither do I, but senpai told me—but during our culture festival we ended up in this other world where we first met Minato-senpai. Minato-senpai and his friends were also persona users with their own problems and they're the ones we met at the P-1 Grand Prix—"

"Mitsuru-san and the other Shadow Operatives?" Naoto asked in surprise. "You mean the problem with the Dark Hour and Tartarus?"

"Yes!" Kanji smiled.

"I see. I remember the cause of the Dark Hour being the experiments of the Kirijo group. They succeeded in putting a stop to it, but all the documents ever said was that Nyx, the being that would bring about the Fall, was stopped. It never said how."

Kanji sobered. "It was Minato-senpai. He gave up his life."

Naoto gasped. "He what?"

"Minato-senpai, once he realized they couldn't just defeat and destroy Nyx, used the power of the friendships he made and used his soul to make a Great Seal that would lock Nyx away. He died."

"How is he in the Velvet Room, then?"

"I don't know. Yuu-senpai and Minato-senpai made a promise to each other to meet again, so I think Minato-senpai—even if he doesn't remember everything—kept his promise. Now, Yuu-senpai is trying to figure out how to free Minato-senpai from the Velvet Room, but he doesn't want the Seal to break."

Naoto hummed pensively. "And Minato-senpai stepping out of the room would definitely break the Seal, or we would've seen him before now. Why did senpai not tell us any of this?"

"No one believed senpai before about the Velvet Room, to be fair," Kanji said, scratching his head. "And I think senpai was sort of worried about how everyone would take it, since he thought only he could go into the Velvet Room. I mean, it does sound kinda crazy. Imagine senpai saying something like, 'Hey, guys, I'm dating this boy you can't ever see because he exists in this room you guys can't go into. Also, he died, like, three years ago.'"

Naoto chuckled, nodding. "You're very right. Now that you mention it…" Naoto suddenly sprung up, grabbing Kanji's arm as she rushed them into Junes. "We don't have much time before the others get here, but we may be able to look up this Minato-senpai. Do you know his family name?"

"Uh," Kanji nodded. "Arisato. Arisato Minato-senpai."

Naoto smiled in response, walking up to one of the computers and typing in the name. She blinked, surprised at the many pages dedicated to him. At the very top of her search, of course, was Minato's obituary and picture. Vaguely, she felt as though he looked familiar. Her eyes scanned it, reading that Minato had passed peacefully on his school rooftop, surrounded by friends.

"He had no family," she read, sympathetic, "They all died in a car accident. He moved back to Iwatodai ten years later, only spent a year there, and died right after the third year graduation ceremony."

Naoto clicked back, going through the many pages—blogs by people who had been affected by Minato; people who created pages in his honor to remember him; the Kirijo group creating a scholarship in his name; an entire wing of Gekkoukan High now bore his name; and many, many people grieving his death. Of course, there was nothing about his exploits as a persona user, but Naoto had not expected that.

"Let's go meet the others. They must be here by now," she said quietly, shutting the webpage.

"Naoto?" Kanji asked.

"I feel like I know him from somewhere and that we were very good friends; judging by what you said earlier, it was likely in this other world none of us can remember." Naoto sighed wistfully. "Now that I've seen him, it feels like I've lost something myself."

They walked outside and found the others of the Investigation Team waiting for them by their table. Yosuke waved them over. "Where were you guys? You were closer than any of us."

Naoto nodded. "I just needed to check something out. We can get going now. Lead the way, Kanji-kun."

Kanji shuffled, nervous, but complied and lead them towards where he usually saw Yuu appear. When they stopped in the small alley next to Daidara's, the others looked at each other in confusion.

"So…where is Yuu-senpai?" Rise asked. "Did you get lost, Kanji-kun?"

Kanji bristled. "No! Just…I had hoped senpai would be here already and I don't want to be rude and knock when they…uh…"

Kanji flushed bright red and Naoto caught on. "I take it they…were in the middle of something intimate when you left?"

Kanji nodded furiously.

"What are you guys talking about?" Chie asked. "You make it sound like Yuu-kun is doing something pervy with someone."

The tall blond's cheeks only turned a brighter red. Naoto smiled sympathetically at him.

"I think, since senpai was expecting us, we can go ahead and knock. But only you know where the door is, Kanji-kun."

"What door?" Yosuke asked impatiently. "Are you guys okay? I don't see anything here. Where _is_ my partner?"

Kanji sighed, shaking his head, and lifted his hand; seemingly, he knocked on thin air, but the others could clearly hear the sound of wood being knocked on. They waited; suddenly, it looked as if a door was opening and, in the doorway, stood Yuu.

"Hey, guys. I was wondering when you'd come. Can you see me?"

"Sensei! How did you do that?" Teddie asked loudly.

"That answers that. Come in and I'll explain," the silver-haired boy said instead, opening the door for them. Cautiously, the others entered. The large blue elevator room only had a small couch, a coffee table, and one chair facing the table. Minato was seated on the couch, legs crossed casually, and he smiled at his new guests.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," he said. Yuu snorted and Minato shrugged. "What? I never got to say it."

Yuu shook his head. "It's not like you offer anything anyway." Calmly, he walked over and sat beside Minato, wrapping an arm around the shorter boy's shoulders. With the exception of Naoto and Kanji, everyone gaped at them.

"S-Senpai," Rise mumbled. "Please don't tell me what I think this means…"

"P-Partner…?" Yosuke asked, turning white.

Yuu took a deep breath and took Minato's hand. "This is the Velvet Room. In another room, I make the personas I used in battle. In this room, I see my boyfriend, Minato-senpai."

"No!" Rise wailed. "I knew you were seeing someone! I've lost my chance!"

"Sensei! I thought you and I were gonna score together!" Teddie shouted, pouting.

"Whoa, who would've thought?" Chie asked. "Is this where you've been hiding?"

Yukiko looked around. "Are you only able to see him in here?"

Yuu opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted.

"Y-Yuu?" Yosuke shook his head. "Y-You're…dating a _guy_?"

"Is that a problem?" Yuu asked, a bit of an edge to his voice.

"I just…I mean, he's a—"

"Maybe we should discuss why you're all here first," Minato suggested, cutting off Yosuke. "Amusing as it is to have guests, Yuu-kun had something to tell all of us, myself included." Minato waved his hand and chairs appeared to accommodate everyone. Hesitantly, they all sat down. Naoto stared straight at Minato, who was unfazed.

"Arisato Minato, I presume?" she asked.

Minato nodded.

"You've been dead for three years," she announced, the others gasping in surprise.

"I suppose. I don't actually remember anything other than promising to come back to Yuu-kun. About a year ago, I found myself here; I sort of remembered being in the Velvet Room before. I called out to Yuu-kun and he came. We started to get to know each other and one thing led to another."

"And now you're dating?" Rise asked. "I knew you had particular tastes, senpai, but this is really out there. A dead guy in an elevator? How was I supposed to compete?"

Minato smiled. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snag him."

Yuu turned and kissed Minato's temple. "I'm glad you did."

"So, if you don't remember anything about yourself, how does Yuu-senpai know anything about you?" Naoto asked, taking the reins again.

"That's what I wanted to see all of you for," Yuu replied. "Minato-senpai has been curious as well and I felt it was time to tell him; I didn't want to keep him a secret from you guys either, so I figured I would tell all of you at the same time. I haven't been able to figure out how to free him and neither has Elizabeth, so I'm hoping letting you guys in on this will help us think of something to get Minato-senpai out into the real world…" Yuu took Minato's hands, looking at the blue-haired boy hopefully, "with me."

"Elizabeth is a part of this?" Yukiko asked.

"Minato-senpai is the whole reason she even joined the P-1 Grand Prix," Yuu explained, "But that can come later. Let me start from the beginning."

The others made themselves comfortable and Yuu took a large breath.

"The first part of this story, I learned directly from Minato-senpai when we were in the time rift. None of you remember this, but I know you all recall us suddenly feeling closer during the culture festival. I'll get to that story, too. Anyway, When Minato was about six years old, his family died in a car accident—but that was the cover story. The truth is the Kirijo group had been experimenting with time travel and shadows. The experiments backfired; the Dark Hour and Tartarus were created, everyone involved with the experiment died. The experiments created twelve shadows that identified with the larger arcana. One more shadow was also created—the one that should not be: Death. But it was incomplete and would continue to be so as long as the twelve others were not destroyed. Aigis tried to destroy the fragmented shadow of the Death arcana, but was unable to. On the bridge where Minato-senpai's family died, Aigis sealed the shadow into Minato-senpai."

Minato sighed. "The fight between Aigis and Thanatos killed my family, I assume."

"I'm sorry, Minato," Yuu replied, gripping Minato's hand tighter. Minato shook his head and smiled at Yuu. "It's all right," the blue-haired boy said, " _Momento mori_."

Unnerved, Yuu nodded and continued. "For ten years after that, Minato was under observation by the Kirijo group, but other than his continued apathy, there seemed to be nothing wrong with him. Their only other observation was that Minato did not transfigure into a coffin during the Dark Hour; he slept peacefully through it. And unlike others who did not transfigure during the Dark Hour, Minato was never attacked by the shadows. Ten years later, Minato was transferred back to Iwatodai for the purpose of enlisting him into SEES. During the night of the full moon after his return, the first large shadow from the 12 arcana attacked Akihiko-san and followed him back to SEES' dorm. Yukari-san tried to protect Minato-senpai on the roof, but Minato-senpai ended up awakening to his potential. He used Yukari-san's evoker and summoned Orpheus, of the Fool arcana."

Naoto's brows furrowed. "Your first persona, Izanagi, was also of the Fool arcana."

"As I understand it, the Fool Arcanum is representative of the Wild Card ability. The number 0 means nothing and everything, because the possibilities are endless. But, the fragment of the Death arcana also emerged. Thanatos ripped himself out of Orpheus and ripped apart the shadow that attacked them. Minato-senpai fainted after that. Since then, Minaro-senpai and the other members of SEES hunted and destroyed the fragments to stop the Fall, or the calling of Nyx. We met Minato-senpai and his friends near the end of their journey, so they didn't know yet…

When we came back from the time rift, Elizabeth explained to me that Ikutsuki had fooled SEES. He _wanted_ to bring about the Fall. Destroying the twelve fragments released pieces that completed the Death Arcana and, once complete, the Appraiser would come to herald the coming of Nyx. When Nyx came, SEES tried to stop her at the top of Tartarus, but were unable to. Finally, Minato used some strange power and became the Great Seal. He locked away Nyx and Death and saved everyone. For a while after that, no one could remember anything. However, they'd all made a promise to meet each other after graduation. Aigis remembered; Minato eventually remembered and met her on the roof. The other's came as well and…" Yuu bit his lip, his hair covering his eyes.

Naoto's eyes were kind. "And, according to Gekkoukan High's newsletter, Arisato Minato intended on taking a nap on the lap of his friend, Aigis; surrounded by the friends he'd made while living in his co-ed dorm, he never woke up and passed peacefully of natural, albeit mysterious, causes."

"Once the promise to see each other was fulfilled, Minato's fragmented soul reunited and he completed the Great Seal. Without a soul, his body couldn't continue living. But, for some reason, when my journey began, Minato called out to me in my dreams. Eventually, he told me how I could meet him whenever I wanted to by thinking of him when I visit the Velvet Room. He helped me with making personas and helped me when Nanako-chan was missing."

"That explains your sudden behavioral change," Naoto muttered. "Now, about this time rift…"

"That's a whole other story…"

* * *

"…And now, we're very much together and want to be together for quite a while, but I want that commitment to extend to the real world," Yuu finished.

The other members of the Investigation Team were still in their seats, digesting the information Yuu had given them. Rise stood and walked over; once she reached the two Wild Cards, she shoved her way between them and hugged a surprised Minato.

"Minato-senpai!" she bawled into his shoulder, "We'll definitely help you! If it makes senpai happy, I'll make sure you get out of here! I can't believe how much you sacrificed for everyone!"

Teddie surreptitiously wiped some tears from his face. "Yeah, 'Nato-chan. That must've been hard for you."

Minato frowned, cautiously wrapping an arm around Rise in an effort to comfort her. "I…It wasn't hard, actually."

Naoto tilted her head. "Why not?"

Minato smiled at Yuu. "I found someone worth dying for."

Yuu flushed. "Do you remember everything now?"

"Not everything. Some of what you said makes some things I've remembered make more sense, but I think…I think the rest will come with time. That being said, I don't exactly know how much time I have left."

Naoto sprang to her feet. "What do you mean, senpai?"

Minato looked at Rise, who was sitting in his lap; she stared at him, bemused, until her eyes popped in surprise as she fell through Minato.

"Wh-What?!" she exclaimed, blushing. "Am I that heavy?"

"No," Minato smiled faintly, and Yuu could see that Minato was less solid than he was before. "There was probably a reason I wasn't supposed to remember everything. I don't exactly know why, but it seems that the more I remember, the more I'm being pulled to the Seal."

"But you were fine before!" Yuu clenched his fists.

"Before, I wasn't quite Arisato Minato," the blue-haired boy responded. "This facet of me that I was, without the memories, could exist because I didn't have the burden of being my other self. But now that I've reconciled…I wish this weren't so hard to explain…"

Naoto took over. "Your lack of memories essentially made you a separate person, who didn't have to bear the responsibilities of the you that was maintaining the Seal. But that was only part of you in the Seal, just as the Minato-senpai we see before us is, similarly, only a piece of the set. Now that you remember yourself and the piece is falling back into its place, your soul is recalling you so that you can return to your duties. Am I correct?"

Minato nodded, smiling apologetically to them. "You should go. I don't know what will happen to this room if I'm not here to maintain it."

"You can't leave," Yuu whispered, staring at Minato. "You promised to come back."

"I will come back," Minato sighed, almost completely gone. "I guess I just have to figure out something more…permanent."

The elevator stopped suddenly, knocking everyone off balance. Realizing that the Velvet Room was collapsing ( _like its inhabitant_ ), Yuu grabbed Rise off of Minato and maneuvered his other teammates out of the room with a forceful shove. Before he closed the door, he looked back to see Minato waving at him.

"Come back to me," the silver-haired boy whispered.

Minato smiled and nodded. "Don't forget me."

* * *

 _To be continued_


	2. The Answer

As soon as the door shut behind him, Yuu opened the door again. To his dismay, Margaret was sitting in the limo with Igor. Both of them looked up at Yuu curiously—even more so when the former leader of the Investigation Team repeatedly opened and closed the door. After several more attempts, Yuu finally shut the door and backed away. The others jumped back as Yuu suddenly punched the door with abandon.

"Senpai!" Rise cried, grabbing at his arms. "You'll hurt yourself! Please stop!"

"Yeah, senpai!" Kanji frowned, wrapping his arms around Yuu so the shorter boy couldn't injure himself further. "We'll figure it out. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"It's true, Yuu-senpai," Naoto said calmly, "Believe in us. We'll do this together."

Yuu, eyes hidden by his hair, nodded mechanically.

"P-Partner?" Yosuke finally ventured. "You…you really liked this guy, didn't you?"

Yuu heaved a great sigh and turned bitter eyes on his best friend. " _Yes_. I really, _really_ liked _him_."

Yosuke flinched slightly. "I didn't realize you were… _that_ way. A-And I'm sorry if any of the jokes I made towards Kanji made it seem like I wouldn't accept you if you were into guys. I just…really, I couldn't quite grasp the fact that you were dating a ghost. I thought you were becoming a fetishist or something."

Yuu cracked a smile. "That's slightly better than what I thought you were gonna say."

Yosuke chuckled and placed a comforting hand on Yuu's shoulder. "We'll get him back to you, partner. I promise. It's what we're here for. You're not alone."

Yuu nodded gratefully.

"Senpai," Naoto spoke up. "Why _did_ you come here all of a sudden? It was bothering me earlier, but with all we've learned, I'd forgotten until now. You rushed over here when we mentioned Iwatodai; did we simply remind you of Minato-senpai or…?"

"No," Yuu replied. "I came to Inaba because I wanted to spend time Minato-senpai and you guys. When you mentioned a trip, I was worried I wouldn't be able to see him, because I can only see him—and remember seeing him—when I go through the Velvet Room. When you mentioned Iwatodai, it reminded me that Minato-senpai had his own Velvet Room door in Palownia Mall. I was going to ask him if he knew of a door there that I could use to still see him, so we could go on a trip there."

Naoto hummed. "Perhaps we should still make that trip."

"Why?" Chie asked. "Shouldn't we focus on Minato-senpai?"

"That's exactly what we're doing," Naoto smiled. "But we need more help from people who knew him as he was. It's clear to me that, once Minato-senpai died, he did not age. So, he's still the Minato-senpai he was when Mitsuru-san and the others knew him. Their knowledge of Minato-senpai and Tartarus could give us some clues to freeing Minato-senpai. Besides, as his closest friends, I believe they deserve to know that Minato-senpai was briefly with us."

"You're right," Yuu said. "Aigis-san, Junpei-san, and Mitsuru-san in particular were close to him."

"So, we're still going on a trip?" Yukiko asked.

"Yes," Naoto affirmed, crossing her arms. "Let's get packing."

* * *

Kirijo Mitsuru sat, legs crossed, across from Narukami Yuu and his friends. She glanced at her own companions, Junpei, Labrys, and Aigis, to see if she could gauge their emotions; Junpei looked completely shocked, Labrys looked confused, while Aigis was a stone-faced as ever. Outwardly, Mitsuru was calm; inwardly, part of her was dying. _Aristato Minato_ was a name she could never forget. In the old Iwatodai dorm, which held such precious memories for her, hearing his name again had forced her to relive her senior year again. Once Yuu and his friends explained that Minato had been appearing again as a resident of the Velvet Room—if only she could've gone in there with him—and that he'd been returned to the Seal, her emotions had become the most turbulent they'd been since…

 _Since Minato-kun died_ , she thought to herself.

"To think he returned…for Narukami," Mitsuru muttered. Some part of her acknowledged that it hurt; when they had begun dating, Mitsuru had never felt such bliss. Minato taught her that the only expectations she needed to live up to were her own, and she always took such lessons to heart. She had hoped, especially after refusing her former suitor, that she and Minato would be together (cliché as it sounds) forever.

But, Mitsuru also knew that, if it were true that Minato appeared in his younger form to Yuu, there was no way she and Minato could pick up where they left off. There was already an age gap between them that, at the time, did not matter because of Minato's maturity. But now Mitsuru was probably taller than Minato; now Mitsuru had moved on with her life and was considering her romantic life as well; now, Minato was in love with someone else and there was no way Mitsuru would interfere with his happiness.

Judging from Yuu's face, it seemed he understood Mitsuru's feelings.

"I'm sorry," he sighed. "I know you and he were…close."

Rise gasped. "What?! He got to be with someone as gorgeous as Mitsuru-san _and_ he got senpai?!"

Junpei finally chuckled. "Don't get me _started_ on Minato's dating life. That guy put James Bond to shame! He dated Yuko, Yuka-tan, Chiyo, Toriumi-sensei—"

"This guy dated a _teacher_?" Yosuke complained.

"—Fuuka-chan, Bebe, Mamoru-senpai, Kenji-kun, _and_ Aigis-chan. I heard he even had a thing with that crazy blue lady, Elizabeth! I got scared he was gonna ask _me_ out! He _finally_ asked Mitsuru-senpai when he plucked up the courage."

"That guy is just all sorts of unfair! He shouldn't be allowed to date!" Teddie cried.

"He sure sounds like one heck of a player to me," Labrys mumbled.

Aigis smiled. "Minato-san was always very honest and was quickly forgiven for his fickleness."

"Seriously?" Chie balked. "Didn't that cause problems between all of you?"

Junpei shrugged. "Not really. In fact, it really helped all those girls—and occasional guys—come out of their shell. It's almost like Minato didn't know how to help people unless he was dating them."

"That sure sounds convenient," Yuu muttered jealously. "Am I gonna end up having to fight all his exes or something?"

That shocked a laugh out of the red-haired heiress—one she sorely needed. "It's quite all right. What happened between Minato-kun and I was special and I will always treasure it. But I'm not the Mitsuru I was then and it seems Minato-kun has found someone else to give his heart to," she smiled, eyes ice-cold and rapier ready, "and, I expect that heart to be protected with the utmost care or there will be an unscheduled execution. Is that understood, Narukami?"

Yuu paled and nodded slowly. "Yes, ma'am."

She smiled in response. "That being said, if you're going to protect that heart, we have to conceive of a way to release him from his duties as the Seal. Let's organize our thinking: what problems are we facing?"

Naoto cross her arms. "First: releasing Minato-senpai from the Seal. Will that cause the Seal to break or is there a way to release him? Second: do we have to consider providing a body for Minato-senpai, or will he return to as he was?"

"Ew," Kanji muttered. "I didn't think of that…"

"Lastly: Minato-senpai's identity. Will he resume life as Arisato Minato? Or do we have to change his identity? And how would we do that?"

Mitsuru sighed. "The Kirijo group will provide Minato-kun with an identity, if it comes down to it, but I have an idea that might work. I don't know about a body."

Aigis tilted her head. "Perhaps a body like mine and my sister's?"

Labrys's eyes were shuttered. "Do we really want another person like us, sis?"

Junpei snorted. "Besides, Minato's too lazy to think about charging himself like you do, Aigis-chan."

"It pains me to say it," Mitsuru sighed with a roll of her eyes, "but Iori is right. Minato-kun was infamous for his apathy. Ironic, considering what we were fighting at the time."

Yuu chuckled. "Yeah, he's definitely one of a kind. As for the body issue, it may be something to discuss with Margaret and Elizabeth."

"Agreed," Naoto replied. "Our most pertinent issue is releasing Minato-senpai from that Seal. Perhaps if we understood _how_ Minato-senpai created the Seal in the first place, we would be able to understand how to free him."

"Elizabeth said he used the power of the bonds he made to create the Seal. I admit, whenever I feel like I can't go on, the bonds I've made with my friends helps me push through," Yuu said.

"The power of bonds?" Yukiko asked.

Yuu shrugged. "For us Wild Cards, our personas become more powerful the more we bond with people. When we 'max out' the bond, or form a bond that can never be broken, we are able to create the strongest possible persona of that arcana."

"But that's in fusion, I assume," Naoto replied. "Do we know if the fortification of bonds was the same way that Minato-senpai created the Seal?"

"I don't know, but I think it's a safe bet," Labrys interjected. "The power of bonds was also what got me to the top of that tower when I faced Sho and Minazuki. I think Elizabeth has a better understanding of it, though."

Mitsuru turned to Aigis. "Aigis, you were briefly a Wild Card when we had that incident with Erebus. Do you recall anything about forming such bonds?"

"No," the blonde replied. "I did not need to create such bonds. I was able to use the Velvet Room, though, and I did previously meet Elizabeth-san and Igor."

"You were a Wild Card?" Yukiko inquired.

Aigis looked away, ashamed. "We were, at first, unable to reconcile with Minato-san's death. We were unwilling to move forward and live our lives for ourselves. We were forced into the Abyss of Time, where we confronted ourselves and saw Minato-san become the Great Seal. During that time, we had to fight shadows again, and I was briefly gifted with the ability of the Wild Card."

"So, you saw him lock Nyx away?" Chie asked.

Mitsuru frowned, bemused. "Nyx? No. Nyx only came because humanity wanted the end to come. Minato-kun locked kept Nyx from Erebus, the manifestation of people's desire for that end. By locking Erebus away, Minato-kun is able to keep Nyx dormant."

"Oh," Kanji scratched his head. "So what did we do before then?"

"What do you mean, Kanji?" Junpei asked.

"I mean…Minato-senpai can't be the first person to ever encounter Nyx and you didn't see him take over another person's job, did you? I bet we're not the only ones who've wanted the end to come and if shadows still exist even after you got rid of Tartarus, then that means they've always existed, right? So what stopped Erebus before Minato-senpai sealed Erebus away?"

The others were stunned into silence.

"That…was surprisingly insightful of you, Kanji-kun," Naoto finally replied. "And absolutely true. What _did_ humanity do about Erebus before Minato-senpai sacrificed himself? Does that mean there is a way to free him, if a Great Seal is not always necessary?"

"This all sounds like we're trying to make sense of something we're never gonna understand!" Junpei groaned. "Why don't we wait for Minato to, I dunno, call us or something?"

Chie glared at him. "It's not that simple, Junpei-san! Minato-senpai might not be able to get to us anymore! Who's to say he can call us again?"

Aigis' lips quirked into a smile. "I agree with Junpei-san. We should believe in Minato-san. He has never broken his promises to us. He would not start now, not even in death."

"You guys sure have a lot of confidence in a guy who's been legally dead for three years," Labrys said sardonically.

"Aigis is right," Mitsuru decided. "We should at least wait until we can confer with the residents of the Velvet Room. I still want to talk to Narukami about this incident that occurred to our respective groups in this supposed rift of time as well. The rest of you are free to explore the city, but please return in time for dinner. Yamagishi and the others will be arriving then, and we should update them on this situation as well. Takeba has never quite forgiven Minato-kun, and I'm sure she would like the opportunity to pay him back now that she may be able to."

Junpei shuddered. "Hell hath no wrath like Yuka-tan."

* * *

"So, he came back for you?" Yukari asked, slightly peeved. "Not for his _friends_ , who risked their _lives_ for him. He came back for a _booty call_."

Yuu opened his mouth to speak, but Mitsuru beat him to it. "Takeba, I understand your feelings, but that is no reason to hurt Narukami's or to discredit the affection between Narukami and Minato-kun."

Yukari sighed, instantly contrite. "You're right, I'm sorry. I'm just really angry at this whole situation. We spent the last few years trying to move forward. Now, he's coming back and it makes me wonder how that will change things."

"It won't," Yuu replied decisively, "He was your friend and comrade and I'm sure he'd love to catch up with all of you, but he'll be spending the majority of his time with me."

"It's exactly as Narukami says," Mitsuru reiterated, in case anyone thought of voicing objections. "If Minato-kun still retains the ability to wield a persona, then I will invite him to join the Shadow Operatives. Beyond that, we will all return to our lives as usual and, for Minato-kun, that life is now with Narukami."

"Still, though," Akihiko chuckled incredulously, "To think we'll get to fight alongside Minato again."

"It's a possibility," Yukari reminded, ever the realist. "We don't know that we'll be able to release him from the Seal."

Aigis frowned. "We will. I guarantee it. Now that we know it is possible for Minato-san to separate himself, it is possible for him to remove himself from the Seal."

"But all of this talk is useless without talking to the Velvet Room residents," Ken said, frowning. Koromaru whined and nosed at Ken's hand, who instantly complied and pet the faithful persona-user. "So, shouldn't we get in contact with them? We apparently have someone who can access that room with us."

"Is it wise to go there now?" Naoto interjected. "It's almost eleven pm and we've already had a tiring day. Perhaps we should rest and go tomorrow, when we're more rejuvenated. Besides, some of us here have heightened emotions, and that may be detrimental."

Yukari flushed and looked away. Yuu smiled at her sympathetically, which Yukari returned tentatively. Slowly, the others agreed that rest was in order. They each parted ways, heading to their assigned rooms for the evening; the Shadow Operatives automatically went to their own old rooms. Yuu walked to the second floor to the end of the hall, staring at the door impassively.

Minato's room.

"It's been untouched," Yukari said, startling Yuu slightly. He turned to face her. "Even when we promised to move on, I suppose there was a tiny part of us that couldn't let go. We haven't even let anyone in there to clean it. Sorry about that."

Yuu shrugged. "I don't mind."

"I'm sorry about before, too," Yukari sighed, looking away. "I was never good at forgiving people. After Minato-kun dated me, he suddenly started dating Bebe, then Fuuka-chan, then Aigis. By the time he settled on Mitsuru, I felt like I was just a conquest. I mean, I became a better person and I appreciate our time together, but I still felt a little used. I know that's not what he meant to do and I know he cared, but I really loved him."

Yuu nodded. "I know."

"How do you feel about him?"

The silver-haired boy sighed. "Like I can tell him everything and he'll never judge me; like everything happened just so we could meet, but the only reason everything happened that way is because we wanted it so badly; like I won't be able to move on without him."

"That's pretty dangerous thinking. It's what got us stuck in the Abyss."

"I know. Which is why I need to figure out a way to get him free," Yuu replied.

"For what it's worth, I think you'd be good for him," Yukari smiled, her expression pained. "Looks like he and I were never meant to be."

"I don't know about anyone ever being _meant_ for another person. All I know is we find people we bond with and there's no one in the world that I want to bond with more than Minato-senpai."

Yukari opened her mouth to respond, but changed her mind. She smiled and shook her head then walked to her own room on the next floor. Quietly, reverently, Yuu opened the door to Minato's old room and lay on the dusty bed. Surrounded by the unforgotten mementos of Minato's life, Yuu fell into an easy slumber.

* * *

Well, it _was_ an easy slumber, Yuu thought crossly, until someone kept knocking on his boyfriend's door. Grumbling, Yuu opened the door to a frantic Yukari.

"Yukari-san?"

"Something doesn't feel right. My persona, Isis, feels restless. Don't you feel it?"

Yuu frowned, but nodded as he realized that Izanagi-no-Okami felt the same. Yukari opened her mouth to say something, but froze in horror when the world turned green. Yuu jumped away from the door as a wall of blood suddenly oozed down it.

"What the hell?" he muttered. He turned to a white-faced Yukari.

"The Dark Hour," Yukari whispered. "Why is it back? Did the Seal break after all?"

The others came storming down the hall towards Yuu and Yukari; Mitsuru was already armed, her evoker on her hip and her rapier in hand.

"The Dark Hour has returned," the red-haired heiress stated needlessly, "We need to go to Tartarus to see if it has returned as well."

"And if it has?" Yuu asked.

Fuuka shook her head. "It means the Seal has broken and Nyx is descending."

"We're going too, then," Yuu decided. "Let's all get ready and meet downstairs to go to Tartarus. Ten minutes."

Junpei snorted good-naturedly. "Who made you the leader?"

Yuu smiled back. "My boyfriend. A long time ago, he asked me to watch out for his team. I intend to keep my word. Besides, if Minato-senpai has…failed…then I want to be there. You'll need all the help you can get against Nyx, from what I've heard."

"Senpai," Naoto said quietly, "What if history repeats itself? What if you have to sacrifice yourself, like Minato-senpai?"

Yuu shrugged. "Then we'll be together in death."

"I don't believe it will come to that," a smooth voice replied. Yuu blinked as a blue door appeared before them; Margaret stepped out, followed by Marie and Theodore. Margaret turned the other girl with an apologetic glance. "This is a family affair, I'm afraid. Please wait in the Velvet Room."

With a huff, Marie turned back and slammed the door closed. The others glanced between themselves in apprehension.

"Margaret?" Yuu finally ventured. "What are you doing here?"

"There's something you have to see," she replied. "We're going to the Great Seal. The Seal is still intact, but the Dark Hour has returned because of it. You can ask your questions once we arrive." She waved her hand and a black, door-shaped space appeared. In the distance, Yuu could see something gold shining.

"Let's go," he said, walking through.

* * *

"What does all this have to do with the Dark Hour?" Yuu asked, staring at the imposing golden statue reminiscent of the blue-haired boy that haunted his dreams.

Theodore's eyes were troubled, his forehead crinkling as his eyebrows drew together. "I am afraid I do not know. I do not sense any shadows; I do not sense Erebus; I sense no disturbances. Seemingly, the Dark Hour has come back for no reason other than to bring us all here."

"That's exactly what it is," Margaret intoned, "He summoned us. For what reason, however, I cannot surmise."

"Okay, I can understand why he would summon you guys," Chie said, gesturing towards the older persona users, "but why are we here? We only came because Yuu-kun told us to come with you, but it seems to me that we're not really needed here."

"Wrong," Elizabeth said, appearing out of thin air. "Nothing that happens in the Velvet Room is meaningless."

"We're not in the Velvet Room right now, though," Yukiko frowned.

"Perhaps," Margaret replied in place of her sister. "But Yuu is a guest, and we are connected to Yuu and his connections for the whole of his journey; we are intertwined and, thus, whatever happens to you is not meaningless. If Yuu was drawn here, along with his friends, you were drawn here for a reason."

"So, why are we here?" Yosuke asked, exasperated. "This place creeps me out."

"Let us allow my sister to explain," Margaret said instead, staring at Elizabeth. The blonde in question smiled.

"My Master has summoned us because he is weary of the Seal and wishes to be free. Only we can accomplish such a feat. I do not know how we will accomplish it, so I believe it would be best to be patient."

"So, what, wait for a statue of Minato to tell us what to do? I know I said we should wait for him to call us, but he really should've thought about how he was going to _talk_ ," Junpei rolled his eyes.

"I will serve as my Master's mouthpiece," Elizabeth declared.

"Okay," Labrys tilted her head. "What's he saying now?"

Elizabeth turned to Minato, nodding at intervals, as though Minato were really conversing with her. Finally, she turned back to the group and shrugged. "He said to wait."

"He did not!" Junpei cried. "You're making it up!"

"That's enough, Iori," Mitsuru sighed. "We _were_ summoned for a reason; Nyx is not descending; we may as well wait."

After some time passed, the others finally relaxed; there was no danger of shadows and Minato, whatever his reasons were, had not revealed anything further to the party. They all sat down and mingled, talking amongst themselves quietly in the cosmic abyss. At some point, Elizabeth disappeared again, to no one's surprise. Yuu stood in front of Minato, staring up at the golden statue. Aigis stood beside him quietly.

"I wonder what is taking so long," she finally whispered.

Yuu shook his head. "Maybe we were wrong. Maybe he isn't calling us yet."

" _That_ guy called you, too?" a deep voice asked, prompting the others to turn around. A young man stood a ways from them and, as he approached, Yuu could see he was wearing earrings. He waved when he was near enough, stopping on Yuu's other side to gaze up at Minato. "I had this really weird dream about a year ago; I was back in the Velvet Room, but it was an elevator, and this kid was seating in Igor's seat and asking me to do him a favor. He told me to come see him when time stopped and the moon turned green. I figured it was just a crazy dream until today."

Yuu frowned. "He visited you?"

"Just once. Told me he really wanted to be with someone important to him and needed my help for that. You see why I thought this was super weird?" the boy with the earring laughed. "So, who are you guys?"

"I'm Kirijo Mitsuru. Am I to presume you are also a persona user?" the red-haired woman asked, stepping forward.

"Yeah. You're all persona users? I didn't know that was a thing. Can you guys use more than one persona too?" the brunet asked.

The others glanced at each other, and Yuu answered. "Only my boyfriend and I could use more than one persona at once. Are you a Wild Card?"

The boy scratched his cheek. "Philemon gave me the power to wield personas, if that's what you mean. And I could use more than one. Can your friends not do that? This guy said he was summoning those of us who could wield more than one."

"Minato-senpai was calling other Wild Cards?" Yuu muttered to himself. "Why did he need all of us, then? And how many more Wild Cards are there?"

"Naoya-kun?" a female voice called out. The boy with the earring turned around and smiled at the woman who was jogging towards the group, a group of people behind her. They all seemed excited to see the jewelry-wearing boy— _Naoya-san_ , Yuu thought.

"Maki-chan!" he called, waving excitedly. "Masao! Nanjo! Hidehiko! All of you! What are you doing here?"

"We were called by some blue-haired kid in a dream," the woman, Maki, explained. "Then some blonde girl with blue clothes called each of us and told us to come here when the world starting looking super weird."

"Yeah, it turned green," Naoya nodded. "I was called the same way."

The group of adults walked over and greeted Naoya warmly. It was clear to Yuu that they were all close friends who had been apart for a while. Briefly, Naoya remembered his manners and introduced his friends. Maki, Yuu remembered, was a famous therapist who was devoted to helping others overcome their traumas; Masao wore an odd yellow hat; Nanjo's clothes bespoke of an affluent family; Hidehiko was a goofy young man; Eriko was fashionable and beautiful; Reiji, whose long hair seemed to conceal a scar on his forehead; and Yukino, whose tough attitude did not take away from the motherly way she fretted over her friends. Yuu welcomed each of them and quickly introduced his friends and the reason behind their appearance.

"So, we're helping that statue?" Hidehiko cocked his head.

"He _needs_ the help," Eriko decided. "That gold is seriously gaudy."

"I don't think he _chose_ to be gold, Eriko-chan," Yukino replied, exasperated.

Yuu smiled. "You guys must be pretty close to still be so open with each other though it's obvious you're not together often."

Naoya grinned. "Power of bonds, my friend."

"That sounds familiar," another new voice interjected.

"You must be the other Wild Card," Yuu nodded, greeting the newcomer. The young man—somewhat younger than Naoya, but older than Yuu—nodded in kind. Beside him were another boy and two women.

"Tatsuya-kun," Yukino greeted. "Maya, Jun, Lisa; so you were all summoned by the blue-haired boy?"

Maya, the brunette with long hair, replied for them. "Yeah. Is that what happened with you?"

"He's not as cute as a statue," Jun said quietly.

Lisa laughed. "I don't think _anyone_ can pull off the statuesque look."

"Even I have to admit that was corny." Hidehiko laughed.

"Really? I thought it was pretty funny," Junpei interjected.

"That's why you're Stupei," Yukari retorted.

"That was mean, Yukari-san," Yosuke chuckled.

"Maybe if they didn't say ridiculous things," Lisa shrugged with a smile.

Yuu chuckled, feeling the ache in his chest ease a bit. Though they'd only just met, it seemed their similar destinies made it easier for them to relate to one another. As the group joked around with each other, Elizabeth finally appeared.

"Elizabeth!" Aigis was the first to notice. "You've returned!"

"Yes," she smiled. "I performed my duty as required of me by my Master. Now, then, if you fulfill any of these conditions, please step forward: you wield more than one persona, either now or in the past; you were given a contract, by my former master Igor or by Philemon; or you were able to fuse personas."

Naoya, Maki, Masao, Nanjo, Hidehiko, Eriko, Reiji, Yukino, Tatsuya, Maya, Jun, Lisa, Aigis, and Yuu all stepped forward. Yuu tilted his head, confused.

"Everyone in your group could use the Wild Card ability?" he asked.

"Philemon, the master of my Master, blessed all of them once," Margaret said by way of explanation. "Because the trails they faced required more than one person with the ability of the Wild Card. When Philemon visited Arisato-san, he did not feel that anyone else needed to make the sacrifice that Arisato-san would eventually make."

Naoya looked over his shoulder at the golden statue. "Wow. So, this kid gave up his life for the world? That's pretty hardcore."

"Aigis was gifted with the ability so that they could help put Arisato-san to rest; it wasn't just the inhabitants of the dorm that couldn't move forward. Arisato-san needed to know you could all move forward without him. He asked Philemon to gift Aigis, the one who was most in need of guidance, the power of the Wild Card so that they had a chance at defeating Arisato-san's shadow."

"And me?" Yuu asked. "I was never visited by Philemon."

"No, Izanami was the one who awakened your potential, so we invited you to the Velvet Room," Margaret replied. "But you had that potential because Philemon blessed you with it at some point."

"So, are we all here?" Maki asked.

"We are," Elizabeth affirmed. "However, I do not know what to do from—" The blonde attendant suddenly stopped talking. Her shoulders sagged and her head fell forward. Briefly, Yuu recalled how Elizabeth was possessed by Zeus, and worried that it had happened again. When she lifted her head again, though, her eyes were shining blue. Her shoulders relaxed and, realizing there were no pockets available, her hands rested on her waist instead. Yuu smiled, recognizing the odd lounging-while-standing pose that only one person he knew had ever mastered.

"Minato-senpai," he breathed, walking towards the possessed Elizabeth.

She—he—smiled in response. "Yuu-kun. Everyone: thank you for coming. I appreciate that you all did so with so little information, but I couldn't talk much as a statue and I only get so much time to use Elizabeth's body."

"You're telling me Elizabeth wasn't lying before when she said she could talk to your statue?" Junpei deadpanned.

"Not the most important thing I have to answer for, I'd say," Minato replied, amused.

"So how does it feel being a woman?" Yosuke asked; Yuu rolled his eyes, but he should've known it would be inevitable. Minato shook his head but deigned to answer. "It feels weird being able to see out of both eyes."

" _That's_ your only observation?" Yosuke grouched, but was quelled by the angry looks from the other women present. "Er, so, what are we all doing?"

"This is going to sound so corny, my super romantic boyfriend will probably break up with me," Minato said, "but if this doesn't work, nothing will get me out of here."

"So, what are we doing?" Yuu asked.

"We're recreating the Great Seal," Minato looked towards himself, "Before I became the Seal, there have been others. People whom have all given their lives to keep Erebus from calling Nyx. Sometimes, the people trying to stop Nyx have failed and the world has started over. Obviously, we were not in that category. Usually, though, there was only ever one person in that time period with the Wild Card ability that could seal Erebus. They would be the seal, Erebus would eventually slumber, and Nyx would retreat. For whatever reason, there are more than ten Wild Cards this era. Every Wild Card can use the Great Seal technique—I'm thinking if we all use it, we should be able to create a Seal that only takes small parts of us and not one person's entire soul. If we do that, we can use the power of our bonds to create a new host for the Seal and I'll be released."

"So, what are we here for?" Labrys asked, "The rest of us aren't Wild Cards, after all."

"Backup," was her answer.

Naoto tilted her head in question, until a loud roar and bang shook her. Everyone turned towards the source; behind the statue of Minato, Erebus prowled and attacked the Seal. Only Yuu noticed that Minato winced every time an attack connected.

"I see," Mitsuru and Naoto said at the same time. Mitsuru assumed her natural role as leader and turned to the others. "While the Wild Cards are performing the Seal, the rest of us will be keeping Erebus at bay. We cannot allow Erebus to call Nyx and, should Nyx descend, we must hold Nyx back as long as possible until the Seal is erected again."

Yuu turned to Minato. "Will we be able to do it?"

The boy sighed. "I hope so. Anyone having any second thoughts?"

"I'm having third thoughts," Akihiko retorted, "But I'll gladly forget them if you promise to make me Best Man after we get out of here."

Minato grinned. "Done."

"Traitor," Junpei pouted.

"More importantly, if we succeed, what will you resurrect _to_?" Naoto asked as she prepared her weapons.

"Minato's composition has always been special, what with having been the host of a shadow for over ten years," Theodore answered. Naoto still looked doubtful.

Minato smiled. "Don't worry. I'll have a body. Now, let's begin."

Each of the Wild Cards turned towards the Seal per Minato's instructions. In front of them, the other persona users stood ready with their weapons to stop Erebus. Minato trotted to the front, facing everyone. "Now," Minato shouted, his grip on Elizabeth's body failing, "I need you all to think of all the bonds you've made; think of the people who changed you and whom you have changed; think of how gloriously happy every single one of them made you. When you've got that feeling in you, I promise, the ability to perform the Seal will pop up like it's the only thing you've ever known how to do." Finally, blue eyes returned to gold and Elizabeth was in control again.

"I assume my Master was able to instruct you. I will be releasing him now…everyone, be ready!"

Yuu shut his eyes, following Minato's directions and remembering all the people who had changed him and helped him while he was in Inaba—Nanako, Dojima, Chie, Yukiko, Yosuke, Kanji, Teddie, Naoto, Rise, and even Adachi had all become friends of his and had all formed unbreakable bonds with him. Briefly, a flash of long blonde hair and a dark figure with a collar passed through his mind and Yuu smiled, remembering that not even death could keep his friends from him—in his minds' eye, he could see Zen and Rei, hand in hand, lifting their free hands to the sky with one finger pointed up. Yuu knew what to do—almost as though he were choosing the attack in a game.

 _The Great Seal…_

He lifted his hand, eyes opening, his finger pointed to the sky, and could feel the power of all his bonds flowing through him. Beside him, the others were quickly following suit as a battle between his friends and Erebus waged on in front of him. He held onto the bonds, watching as Elizabeth summoned ever-faithful Thanatos and, with a swing of his mighty saber, the chains holding Minato were cut free.

The statue fell to the ground and broke into pieces; briefly, Yuu panicked, thinking that Minato would be broken, too. Desperately trying to see through the dust, Yuu noticed a small, blue butterfly fly into the chaos. The butterfly touched down and an odd, shadow-like creature emerged from the wreckage of Minato's statue. The shadow took the form of a being Yuu would recognize even when blind.

"Minato!" Yuu called.

Weak and nude, Minato waved back at Yuu. Elizabeth quickly joined him, hoisting the boy up and essentially carrying him past the front lines. Her own finger was held up as well, and Yuu realized Elizabeth must have become a Wild Card herself.

 _Good. We need all the help we can get._

Yuu could tell all the bonds amassed by everyone were helping, but it wasn't enough. To Yuu's horror, chains began to wrap themselves around Minato and Elizabeth struggled to keep him from being dragged away from her. Yuu tried to move forward to help, but the bonds draining out of him to forge a new Seal kept him in place. "We have to do something!" Yuu shouted.

"What more can we do!?" Naoya cried. "This is all we have!"

"We need more help!" Maki yelled.

"But where will we find such help?" Aigis asked breathlessly.

A blue door emerged just before them and Theodore and Margaret walked out, followed by a girl with short red hair and blue headphones and a boy with shaggy black hair in a mask, respectively. The enigmatic blonde smiled, gesturing behind her. "I try not to break the rules often, but I suppose there must be exceptions sometimes."

Quickly and with no words, the red-haired girl and the masked boy fell into place beside Jun. Their hands were raised and Yuu could feel the extra surge of power. Happily, Yuu noticed the chains retreating. As the chains dragged backwards, they wrapped around Erebus instead. Screeching and fighting, the beast was pulled towards the doorway, through which Yuu could see the form of Nyx beginning to awaken. Despite all the attacks raining on Erebus and the chains pulling steadfastly towards the door, Erebus refused to be subdued. Just behind the doorway, Nyx stirred and looked around, eying each of the persona users.

 _Just one more push!_ Yuu thought fervently. _We just need a little, tiny bit more!_

As if he could hear Yuu's thoughts, Minato lifted his head and stared defiantly into the eyes of the maternal being. Nyx stared back at him, seemingly recognizing the boy that kept her from beginning the world anew.

"You will defy me again, Child of the Universe?" Nyx asked calmly.

Minato raised his hand in reply. Yuu grinned, feeling the rush of power engulf him. With renewed determination, Mitsuru led the charge, attacking Erebus again. Minato's hand held high, they all watched as the chains tightened themselves around Erebus and dragged the beast away. Just as Nyx locked eyes with Yuu, the doors shut, gold encased the feral form of Erebus, and the chains wrapped around the golden beast and the doors.

For a moment, everyone stared at the door expectantly. Moments passed and nothing happened.

"Did…did we do it?" Teddie finally asked.

Minato smiled weakly. "Looks like. Can someone get me some clothes, please? I know just about everyone here has seen me naked before, but I like to pretend I have some modesty."

Yukiko was the first to burst into laughter. Followed by various degrees of mirth from the others, the tension broke and everyone finally relaxed. Yuu took off his jacket and draped it around Minato's shoulders as Margaret magicked some trousers from thin air. Once covered, Yuu wasted no time wrapping the smaller boy in a hug, nearly crushing him.

"I can't believe we did it," he whispered.

"You beat a goddess last year," Minato replied. "Are you still seriously surprised anymore?"

The others crowded around the embracing teens, asking their own questions.

"How do you feel?" Maya was quick to ask.

"Alive," Minato smiled. "Somewhat."

"How did you get your body?" Chie poked at Minato curiously.

"Part of me has always been a shadow, what with Death being sealed inside me," Minato shrugged. "I came back using the body of a shadow."

"Oh, so you're just like me!" Teddie cheered.

"God help us," Rise muttered, gripping one of Minato's shoulders.

"What do you remember?" Mitsuru pressed, brushing back Minato's bangs.

Minato smiled gently at her, grasping her hand. "I remember everything."

Finally, Junpei asked the most important question. "Who the hell are those two?" Everyone turned to the red-haired girl and the masked teenager, who smiled and waved. The girl walked towards Minato, heedless to the others parting for her. When she reached him, she immediately enveloped him in a tight hug, inadvertently forcing Yuu, Rise, and Mitsuru to let go of Minato. Minato clutched the girl just as desperately, burying his nose into her shoulder.

"I missed you so much, 'Nato!" the girl sobbed. "When that weird blue lady told me I could see you one more time, I would've done _anything_ to see you."

"'Nako," Minato released a ragged breath, "I'm so glad you're safe and you didn't end up like me. Elizabeth told me once that there was…there was another world where I died and you lived, but I didn't want you to be sealed like me."

The girl laughed breathlessly. "No, it looks like you did enough for all of us, 'Child of the Universe'."

Yuu blinked. "…'Nako? Another world where…where _you_ died? Minato-senpai, who is this?"

The girl separated herself and, standing beside each other, Yuu could easily see the resemblance between them. "My name is Arisato Minako. Minato is my brother."

"…What." Junpei deadpanned. "You have a sister?"

"Technically, had," Minato shrugged casually, but his grip tightening around Minako's waist told Yuu another story. "Minako was in the car during the accident. In my world, she died with my parents."

"And in my world, 'Nato died and I lived," Minako added.

"And your name is…Mina _ko_?" Yukari raised a brow. "Were your parents just lazy or…?"

The siblings shrugged, apathy clearly lined in their expressions. The general consensus was that the apathy must be genetic for their family.

"So, there's another separate world where Minato doesn't exist and Mina _ko_ came to the dorm?" Akihiko asked. "Is anything else different in that world?"

Minako smiled. "Shinji is alive and well in that world."

Ken, Akihiko, and Mitsuru tensed, looking at each other. Mitsuru was the one who spoke. "Shinjiro survived?"

"Yes. He's my boyfriend, now. He's a wicked cook! That's why I keep him around," Minako laughed.

Akihiko relaxed and laughed as well. "Then I'm glad. It's good to know that Shinji is happy in some universe." With a smile, Ken nodded, agreeing.

"That doesn't explain who you are, though," Yosuke said, pointing to the masked figure. The boy in question merely smiled.

"We've never met, and we probably won't for a while. For now, you can call me The Phantom."

Minato gazed at Phantom shrewdly. "Good luck on your journey, kid. Stealing hearts is a hard business. Try not to stare at Igor's nose—he hates that."

The Phantom smirked and winked at Minato. "Thanks for the tip, Minato-senpai. Let's keep in touch, when my time comes."

Yuu glared at him. "I hope your time takes a while, whatever that means."

The boy laughed to Yuu's chagrin, and it wasn't long before the others joined in. Ignoring them, Yuu cozied up to Minato's other side, helping Minako keep Minato upright. Finally, Margaret stepped forward, regretful eyes sweeping over Minako and Phantom. "I'm afraid it's time for you two to go."

Minako frowned. "Can't I stay longer? I want to know so much! Minato…'Nato was my entire world and now I have him back!"

"I'm afraid not," Margaret replied, but a smile soon lighted her face. "But I noticed that our master, Philemon, has once again blessed Minato-kun. It seems his sacrifice has earned Minato a place as one of Philemon's favorites."

"Meaning…?" Yuu asked.

"Meaning, Minato has been using the Velvet Room to meet his boyfriend for a year. Philemon, and indeed the rest of us, sees no reason why Minato-kun can't use the room to see his sister as well."

Minako cheered and crushed Minato and Yuu in a hug. After promises to catch up soon and another goodbye to the mysterious Phantom, Margaret led the world and time travelers back to their respective homes. With a smile, Elizabeth and Theodore both opened their own portals, and the Investigation Team, the Shadow Operatives, and the older persona users, beaten and weary and victorious, stepped through back to the Iwatodai dorm.

"Welcome home," Yuu whispered.

"I told you I'd come back," Minato replied.

* * *

It didn't take long for Minato to reintegrate to normal life. The Kirijo Group explained to the world that Minato's miraculous revival was due to their dedicated hospital team; Minato, contrary to popular belief, had only slipped into a coma but, to save the world unnecessary grief should he not revive, Minato's coma was officially announced as a death while the Kirijo Group worked to revive him and kept his body cryogenically frozen. That was their story, anyway, and Mitsuru quickly silenced those who were skeptical. Those who knew Minato were simply glad he was alive again.

Minato was forced to go back to Gekkoukan High and younger students who had heard legends of the boy who could eat like an elephant while still beating the top athlete at the school had the opportunity to spend one year with him as he finished his education. Yuu, to his dismay, could not attend Gekkoukan, but was allowed to return to Inaba for his final year. It was a good enough trade for Yuu, who could always go to the Velvet Room to see his boyfriend (and after that incident where Minako walked in on them, Yuu made sure all visits were strictly PG).

Dojima was a little weirded out that Yuu was dating someone who apparently had access to other worlds via an invisible elevator and who was officially declared deceased not three weeks ago, but he quelled those nerves and easily welcomed Minato into their home when he found out that Minato was a huge fan of soap operas, too ( _"Tomodaaaa!_ " Dojima and Minato would cry as an amused Yuu and Nanako watched). Nanako quickly fell in love with Minato as well and, were it not for the fact that Yuu had assured Nanako she could help plan the wedding, Yuu might've been worried that Nanako was conspiring to steal his boyfriend (she was, but only because Minato-nii-chan let her paint his nails).

Yuu easily fell into Minato's new and old group of friends as well and, if anyone thought it odd that Yuu and Minato could visit each other so easily, everyone was wise enough to ignore it and appreciate small miracles.

Minato and Yuu, of course, passed their finals with flying colors (under the threat of an execution should they fail) and Yuu pursued a career in investigation with Naoto and Dojima while Minato became a chef. Promptly after graduation, both received invitations from Mitsuru to join the Shadow Operatives and both quickly agreed, gladly joining a newly recruited Naoya, Maya, and Jun. Minato met Labrys and, like most Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons that met the blue-haired leader, Labrys seemed to take a liking to him. Yuu wondered if he would always be second best to Minato when it came to the affections of cybertronic women, but he would gladly accept being second best in that regard. Especially once "The Phantom" reached out to Minato for a date and playboy extraordinaire Arisato Minato gently rebuffed the latest generation of Wild Card.

 _Eat it, kouhai_. Yuu thought smugly, his arm wrapped around Minato as the boy snoozed on Yuu's chest.

Life settled into a routine. Yuu and Minato continued their respective educations; Minako and Shinji visited Yuu and Minato, who brought along Mitsuru, Ken, and Akihiko; Naoya tried to convince Yuu that earrings were so in, to Minato's amusement; Yuu and Minato joined the other operatives to suppress shadow activity and would always set off Yukari's temper; Yuu and Labrys introduced Minato to Sho, who immediately picked a fight with Minato (every Wednesday); Junpei came over to the Velvet Room to try and catch Minato and Yuu in the act after lascivious stories from a certain red-haired Wild Card; Eriko constantly dragged Minato along to shopping trips with the other girls, to Yuu's amusement; Yosuke tried to plan the bachelor party whenever Minato was in class; Kanji and Naoto quietly became a couple, fulfilling Yuu and Minato's quiet OTP obsession; Margaret asked them for odd items she intended on using; and Elizabeth asked them for odd items she had no intention of ever using.

When Yuu and Minato finally moved in together, with special permission from Philemon to install a Velvet Room door in their apartment so everyone could visit, Yuu thought life couldn't get any better.

"Yuu?" Minato popped his head into the room from the kitchen one day, where the world's laziest chef finally decided to cook. Yuu, lounging on the couch with their laptop on his stomach, grunted in acknowledgment. "Nanako-chan told me she likes this boy and I was thinking of throwing him into the TV world to dissuade him from impugning on her honor. Also, do you wanna get married or something? I kind of love you, you know."

Yuu grinned, turning the laptop over to show Minato the webpage of the white, sweetheart neckline wedding dress he was looking at. "I kind of love you, too, Minato. You're wearing the dress."

"Asshole," Minato retorted. "You know I don't like mermaid styles."

And suddenly, life was perfect.

* * *

 _fin_


End file.
